Yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan-induced complete remission in a patient with classical lymphocyte-rich Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND Radioimmunotherapeutics directed against CD20 have been established in several types of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Yttrium-90 (90Y) ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) is the only approved radio - immunoconstruct for NHL in the EU. The malignant Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg cells in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) express CD20 infrequently. Thus, only very limited data of cHL patients treated with anti- CD20 immunoconstructs are available. To date, none of the patients treated with 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan demonstrated any response. CASE REPORT We report on a 78-year-old female patient suffering from a second systemic relapse of classical nodular lymphocyte-rich HL who experienced a complete remission (CR) after treatment with 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan lasting over a period of 6 months. DISCUSSION Treatment of patients with cHL with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab resulted in a response rate of 22%. 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan demonstrated superiority compared with rituximab in a randomized phase III trial. HL represents a radiosensitive tumor responding to anti-CD30 or antiferritin radioimmunotherapy. Further HL patients have to be treated with 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan to evaluate a potential benefit. CONCLUSION Treatment with 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan induced a clinically relevant CR in a patient with CD20-positive cHL. Thus, we will expand treatment of relapsed CD20-positive HL with 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan at our institution.