RALPH BOCCIA, MD: It's an antibody that was developed against a target on these lymphoid cells that are the cancer cell of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This target is called "CD20." It's a target that sits on the cell's surface of many -- about 90% or so of the B-cell malignant tumors, and only a few of the normal cells.
ANNOUNCER: Once linked to cancer cells, monoclonal antibodies then serve as signals for the immune system to act.
RALPH BOCCIA, MD: It has the ability to attract our normal immune cells, other cells -- one of which we call "natural killer cells," and I think anyone can get a notion of that cell has the capacity to do merely by its name. Then there are the cells called "macrophages," which are very similar cells to the natural killer cells. Their job is to scavenge or to attack foreign substances, germs and, potentially, cancer cells.
ANNOUNCER: Rituximab is also believed to work by activating destructive enzymes and even causing the cancer cells to self-destruct. But the essential advantage of monoclonal antibodies is that they spare the rest of your body from attack, unlike chemotherapy.
RALPH BOCCIA, MD: Chemotherapy has the potential to have a number of side effects that people are very well aware of -- hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, sometimes infections.
Monoclonal antibody therapy -- which gets the cancer cell as opposed to the normal cell -- if it's not interacting with the normal cell, will reduce that potential for side effects. It won't affect the hair follicle, therefore, the patient's hair won't necessarily fall out.
ANNOUNCER: As with any medication, Rituximab does have some potential side effects.
