Rituximab for the treatment of autoimmune cytopenias.

haematologica/the hematology journal | 2007; 92(12) | 1589 | Bor T-lymphocyte-mediated autoimmune disorders may lead to clinical disease characterized by low blood cell counts. The term autoimmune cytopenias has been collectively applied to this heterogeneous group of disorders. After the introduction of the humanized, chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, rituximab, as a powerful therapeutic agent in Bcell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, numerous attempts have been made to utilize B-lymphocyte depletion induced by rituximab for the treatment of non-hematologic as well as hematologic autoimmune diseases. In this issue of Haematologica, two papers address the use of rituximab as therapy for autoimmune cytopenias.