How This Drug Could Become the Standard for Mantle Cell Lymphoma

You may be reading the above symptoms and wonder why anyone would ever want to take this drug. Do keep in mind that most of those symptoms are rare and patients may not experience them at all. However, this new study shows that it might be worth the risk to use Rituxan on MCL patients.

Why Rituxan is good for MCL patients

Researchers put together a medical trial involving 299 patients who were younger than 66 that were diagnosed with MCL. Doctors gave the patients Rituxan after chemotherapy, and 86 percent were well enough to undergo a stem cell transplant. This is important, as many patients were rejected for transplants due to their conditions. Doctors continued to some of the patients for up to three years after the transplant, while the others were given traditional care (patients were randomly assigned to these groups). The patients who took Rituxan greatly benefited from the drug, and tests revealed that the drug was providing great results for the patients. Doctors found that after 3 years 83 percent of MCL patients that had taken the drug were still alive with the cancer completely stopped, as compared to 64 percent taking traditional treatments. Even better, 79 percent of patients did not even have any relapses or symptoms relating to MCL. Researchers believe that administering this drug could really boost the quality of life of MCL patients in the future. Doctors believe that Rituxan could be the new standard of care for MCL patients as soon as this year.