Case Reports in Oncology (Oct 2009)

Change of CD20 Expression in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated with Rituximab, an Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody: A Study of the Osaka Lymphoma Study Group

  • Naoki Wada,
  • Masaharu Kohara,
  • Hiroyasu Ogawa,
  • Haruo Sugiyama,
  • Shirou Fukuhara,
  • Yoichi Tatsumi,
  • Akihisa Kanamaru,
  • Masayuki Hino,
  • Yuzuru Kanakura,
  • Eiichi Morii,
  • Katsuyuki Aozasa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000249152
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 3
pp. 194 – 202

Abstract

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Change of CD20 expression was examined in cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). CD20 expression after treatment with anti-CD20 antibody (rituximab, Rx) for DLBCL was examined in 23 cases who received serial biopsy by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and flow cytometry (FCM). CD20– by IHC and/or FCM was defined as CD20–. Four cases were CD20– at initial biopsy but became CD20+ after chemotherapy with Rx (CH-R) (group A). Recurrent tumors in three group A cases became resistant to CH-R. Initial and recurrent tumors were CD20+ before and after CH-R in 17 cases (group B). Tumors before CH-R were CD20– in two cases (group C) and continued to be CD20– in one and turned CD20+ in the other with survival time after the relapse of 8 and 23 months, respectively. Evaluation of CD20 expression with immunohistochemical and flow cytometric methods is used for the prediction of responsiveness of relapsed DLBCL for CH-R.

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