Background: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) comprises a group of related haematological malignancies, predominantly of B-cell origin, which have been described as indolent or aggressive according to their clinical course. Standard treatment for indolent NHL consists of conventional chemotherapy, but, although long-term remissions may occur, most patients will die of their disease. Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a novel modality for treating indolent NHL, using monoclonal antibodies to target tumour cells with systemic, low-dose radiation. (90)Y-Ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin); Schering AG, Berlin, Germany), the first RIT approved for use in relapsed/refractory indolent NHL, comprises the murine anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody ibritumomab, covalently linked to the high-energy beta-emitter, yttrium-90, by the chelator, tiuxetan.
Materials and methods: A multidisciplinary consensus workshop of European clinicians who had taken part in clinical trials of (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan was convened to develop recommendations for the clinical preparation and administration of (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan in Europe. The workshop was held in anticipation of European Medicines Agency approval of this agent, which was gained in 2004 for adult patients with rituximab-relapsed or refractory CD20(+) follicular B-cell NHL.
Results and conclusions: This article summarises the consensus recommendations developed for hemato-oncologists.