OBJECTIVES: To study the efficacy and safety of repeated application of rituximab (RTX) at a low dose (200 mg/m²) versus the recommended dose (375 mg/m²) for remission maintenance in frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome (FRNS) or steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted for 29 children with FRNS/SDNS who received systemic treatment in the Department of Nephrology, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, from September 2020 to December 2021. These children were divided into a recommended dose group (n=14) and a low dose group (n=15) using a random number table. The two groups were compared in terms of general characteristics, changes in CD19 expression after RTX treatment, number of relapses, glucocorticoid dose, adverse reactions of RTX, and hospital costs. RESULTS: After RTX treatment, both the low dose group and the recommended dose group achieved B-lymphocyte depletion and had significant reductions in the number of relapses and glucocorticoid dose (P<0.05). The low dose group had a comparable clinical effect to the recommended dose group after RTX treatment (P>0.05), and the low dose group had a significant reduction in hospital costs for the second, third, and fourth times of hospitalization (P<0.05). There were no serious adverse reactions in either group during RTX treatment and late follow-up, and there was no significant difference in adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Repeated RTX treatment at a low dose has comparable clinical efficacy and safety to that at the recommended dose and can significantly reduce the number of FRNS/SDNS relapses and the amount of glucocorticoids used, with little adverse effect throughout the treatment cycle. Therefore, it holds promise for clinical application.
Humans ; Child ; Nephrotic Syndrome/drug therapy* ; Rituximab/adverse effects* ; Glucocorticoids/adverse effects* ; Prospective Studies ; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing

Pemphigus is a life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease affecting the skin and mucosa. Patients with severe pemphigus require long-term treatment with corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs, which can lead to serious adverse events. Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen of B lymphocytes, has been demonstrated to be effective in recalcitrant and life-threatening pemphigus.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antigens, CD20 ; immunology ; Humans ; Pemphigus ; therapy ; Rituximab

Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects* ; Bendamustine Hydrochloride/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Immunoconjugates/adverse effects* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Rituximab/adverse effects*

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; adverse effects ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Premedication ; adverse effects ; Ranitidine ; adverse effects ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab

We report two cases of rituximab (RTX)-induced interstitial pneumonia in two lymphoma patients receiving RTX treatment. Interstitial pneumonia was successfully managed in these two cases after a one-week-long intervention with corresponding treatments without affecting further treatment of the primary disease. RTX-induced interstitial pneumonia is characterized by a latent onset with an unclear pathological mechanism and absence of typical symptoms. High-resolution CT scan can provide valuable evidence for early diagnosis of RTX-induced interstitial pneumonia, which might be attributed partially to an increased susceptibility to P. jirovecii and fungal infection due to prolonged RTX treatment.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; adverse effects ; Disease Susceptibility ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; chemically induced ; Rituximab ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; adverse effects ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; chemically induced ; Rituximab ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia ; drug therapy

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of rituximab plus CHOP regimen and CHOP regimen on newly diagnosed patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and analyze their toxicities. A total of 69 patients were enrolled from July 2003 to Dec 2006. The patients were non-randomly were divided into 2 groups: 36 received CHOP alone (CHOP group) and 33 received rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP group). The complete response (CR) rates, overall survival (OS) and side events of the 2 groups were compared. The results showed that the CR rate in R-CHOP group was higher than that in CHOP group (69.7% vs 47.2%, p = 0.049); especially in patients of male, Ann Arbor III - IV and IPI 3 - 5 (p = 0.017, p = 0.005 and p = 0.000). The estimated mean OS in R-CHOP group was longer than that in CHOP group (45.7 months vs 35.2 months, p = 0.145), and also in the estimated mean progression free survival (PFS) (38.5 months vs. 24.6 months, p = 0.017). The major adverse events in combination group were infusion-related responses which could be well tolerated in patients, and hematological toxicities which were similar to those in CHOP group. In conclusions, Rituximab increases the therapeutic efficacy of CHOP regimen on newly diagnosed patients with DLBCL, without a clinically significant increase in toxicity.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prednisone ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Rituximab ; Safety ; Vincristine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is one of the main complications after stem cell transplantation and is often induced by EBV. The optimal treatment of PTLD includes reduction of immunosuppressant dose, transplant organ resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and so on. Recently, a new therapeutic approach was developed in PTLD: the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody or rituximab. In this review, the application of rituximab in treatment of PTLD is summarized, including risk factors and mechanism of PTLD, therapeutic strategy, application of rituximab in PTLD and so on.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; therapeutic use ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Risk Factors ; Rituximab

BACKGROUND: Although ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation (KT) has been performed successfully, a standard preconditioning regimen has not been established. Based on the initial antidonor ABO antibody titers, an individualized preconditioning regimen is developed, and this study explored the efficacy and safety of the regimen. METHODS: From September 1, 2014, to September 1, 2020, we performed 1668 consecutive living-donor KTs, including 100 ABOi and 1568 ABO-compatible (ABOc) KTs. ABOi KT recipients (KTRs) with a lower antibody titer (≤1:8) were administered oral immunosuppressive drugs (OIs) before KT, while patients with a medium titer (1:16) received OIs plus antibody-removal therapy (plasma exchange/double-filtration plasmapheresis), patients with a higher titer (≥1:32) were in addition received rituximab (Rit). Competing risk analyses were conducted to estimate the cumulative incidence of infection, acute rejection (AR), graft loss, and patient death. RESULTS: After propensity score analyses, 100 ABOi KTRs and 200 matched ABOc KTRs were selected. There were no significant differences in graft and patient survival between the ABOi and ABOc groups (P  = 0.787, P  = 0.386, respectively). After using the individualized preconditioning regimen, ABOi KTRs showed a similar cumulative incidence of AR (10.0% υs . 10.5%, P  = 0.346). Among the ABOi KTRs, the Rit-free group had a similar cumulative incidence of AR ( P  = 0.714) compared to that of the Rit-treated group. Multivariate competing risk analyses revealed that a Rit-free regimen reduced the risk of infection (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.12-0.78, P  = 0.013). Notably, antibody titer rebound was more common in ABOi KTRs receiving a Rit-free preconditioning regimen ( P  = 0.013) than those receiving Rit. ABOi KTRs with antibody titer rebound had a 2.72-fold risk of AR (HR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.01-7.31, P  = 0.048). ABOi KTRs had similar serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate compared to those of ABOc KTRs after the first year. CONCLUSIONS An individualized preconditioning regimen can achieve comparable graft and patient survival rates in ABOi KT with ABOc KT. Rit-free preconditioning effectively prevented AR without increasing the risk of infectious events in those with lower initial titers; however, antibody titer rebound should be monitored.
Humans ; Kidney Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Living Donors ; Kidney ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; ABO Blood-Group System ; Graft Rejection ; Graft Survival

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characteristics of SAA patients with post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and to improve diagnosis and treatment of PTLD. METHODS: The clinical data of 192 patients with SAA patients who underwent HSCT in a single center from September 2010 to September 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were received antithymocyte globulin（ATG） conditioning regimen and mesenchymal stem cell(MSC) infusion. RESULTS: Among 192 cases, PTLD occurred in 14 cases, the incidence was 7.29％， 9 of them were diagnosed by pathology， and 5 were diagnosed clinically. EBV infection occurred with a median time of 72（35-168） days, Viral load higher than 1×10⁴ copies/ml occured in all PTLD patients. The incidence of probable PTLD in patients ≤12 years old and ＞12 years old was 11.11%, 2.38%, respectively (P<0.01）. Univariate and multivariate analysis that the EBV infection, patients age≤12 years old, HLA-mismatch in URD-HSCT, grade II to IV aGVHD were the independent risk factors for PTLD. All PTLD patients were treated with rituximab(RTX) when EBV-DNA load higher than 1×10⁴ copies/ml, or reducted the use of immunosuppression(RIS), patients with poor therapeutic effect were treated combined with EBV-specific CTLs(EBV-CTL) and chemotherapy. All patients were treated effectively, and the total effective rate was 100％. The median follow-up time was 65(62-115) months, and the overall survival rate was 92.85%. One patients died of cerebral hemorrhage, 7 months after PTLD curred. CONCLUSION The incidence of PTLD after HSCT with SAA who used ATG and MSC in conditioning regimen closely relates to EBV infection, age of patients≤12 years, HLA-mismatch in URD-HSCT, grade II to IV GVHD. Rituximab combined with RIS may reduce the incidence of PTLD, combined EBV-CTL and chemotherapy may be the useful and most important treatment for PTLD.
Anemia, Aplastic/therapy* ; Child ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/complications* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab/therapeutic use*