Recent therapeutic advances in hematological malignancies: the role of targeted therapies in lymphoma.

Destruction of tumor cells by tackling of tumor-specific surface or intracellular properties and thus sparing normal tissues remains the ultimate goal of tumor therapy. Although none of the therapies available today completely match these requirements a number of new treatment modalities are getting closer to achieving this goal. In lymphoma, monoclonal antibodies binding to antigens specific to lymphocytes in different stages of maturation have dramatically changed treatment algorithms. Although many more antibodies have been tested, only antibodies binding to the CD20 antigen on B cells and the CD52 antigen on T-cells are broadly used in the clinic. Antibodies against other B-cell antigens like CD22, CD19 or CD37 or antibodies against CD3, CD4 or CD8 on T-cells are not widely used in the treatment of lymphoma in 2008. The chimeric anti-CD20 human immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody rituximab is the antibody which is almost exclusively used to treat patients with B-cell lymphoma. While the next generation of naked anti-CD20 antibodies is already under study [1] radio-labeled anti-CD20 antibodies like [Y]ibritumomab–tiuxetan (Zevalin) or [I]tositumomab (Bexxar) have been made available to oncologists and may represent another step forward in successfully treating patients with B-cell lymphomas who previously failed rituximab or who are ineligible for more aggressive therapy.