Rituximab Isn't Sugar-Water

Many CLLers use rituximab to treat their CLL. It is preferred to chemotherapy drugs such as fludarabine because it seems by comparison to be relatively non-toxic (except, of course, for the acute infusion reactions).

This paper in Blood points out the chilling fact that rituximab has been linked to a serious brain disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).


Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy after rituximab therapy in HIV-negative patients: a report of 57 cases from the Research on Adverse Drug Events and Reports project

Kenneth R. Carson, et al

Rituximab improves outcomes for persons with lymphoproliferative disorders and is increasingly used to treat immune-mediated illnesses. Recent reports describe 2 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 1 with rheumatoid arthritis who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after rituximab treatment.

We reviewed PML case descriptions among patients treated with rituximab from the Food and Drug Administration, the manufacturer, physicians, and a literature review from 1997 to 2008.

Overall, 52 patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, 2 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 1 patient with rheumatoid arthritis, 1 patient with an idiopathic autoimmune pancytopenia, and 1 patient with immune thrombocytopenia developed PML after treatment with rituximab and other agents. Other treatments included hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (7 patients), purine analogs (26 patients), or alkylating agents (39 patients).

Median time from last rituximab dose to PML diagnosis was 5.5 months. Median time to death after PML diagnosis was 2.0 months. The case-fatality rate was 90%. Awareness is needed of the potential for PML among rituximab-treated persons.

http://tinyurl.com/ofyubj

The other great disease which causes immunosuppression of course is AIDS. These patients can be struck by reactivation of the JC virus. It seems less common in CLL patients, at least it is not described in the literature to any great extent.

You don't want to get PML. It is caused by the JC virus, which is present in almost all adults. It lives in the body, harmlessly, for years. In cases of immunosuppression, occasionally it will attack brain tissue, leading to gross mental deficiencies, and in most cases, death. See the wikipedia article on the JC virus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_multifocal_leukoencephalopathy

It should be noted that since all CLL patients are immunosuppressed, the disease may strike with or without rituximab. However, those using rituximab seem to be at a higher risk of developing the disease. Cases of PML were probably 'hidden' in the general population of immune-deficient patients such as those with CLL, so it was not clear and evident. In those with other diseases who are not immunocompromised, these cases are so atypical as to be suggested to be caused by the rituximab.