Role of maintenance rituximab (rituxan) therapy in the treatment of follicular lymphoma.

Although follicular lymphoma remains incurable, recent advances in first-line therapy have resulted in improved response rates and response duration. Maintenance therapy with rituximab (Rituxan) after induction treatment with rituximab alone or chemotherapy in combination with or without rituximab has resulted in further improvement in progression-free survival in both treatment-naive and previously treated patients. Efficacy results from the large phase 3, randomized Primary Rituximab and Maintenance (PRIMA) trial in the first-line setting have dem onstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival, in the rate of patients achieving complete remission, and in the proportion of patients remaining in complete remission using maintenance rituximab.The use of maintenance therapy is also under study in additional hematological malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Clinical investigation is ongoing to address the optimal duration of maintenance therapy and the question of whether re-treatment upon disease progression is as beneficial as maintenance for follicular lymphoma.