In follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, some of the patient’s B cells start to grow out of control and become cancerous. In treatment with BEXXAR, Tositumomab finds the CD20 antigen on the surface of normal and cancerous B cells and sticks to them. The radioisotope Iodine-131 attached to Tositumomab gives off radiation that may kill these cells (see first illustration below).
This radiation may also kill other cancer cells near the cells to which BEXXAR is directly attached. This is called the ”crossfire effect” (see second illustration below). Because of the crossfire effect, not every cancerous cell needs the antibody attached to it to receive the potential cancer-killing radiation. The crossfire effect, however, also means that BEXXAR may kill not only the nearby cancerous cells, but it may also kill nearby normal cells.
How BEXXAR works: More than 90% of follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas have the CD20 antigen on their surface. Tositumomab finds and sticks to the CD20 antigen on normal and cancerous B cells. Iodine-131 then gives off radiation and kills these cells. It may also kill other cells that are nearby, including normal cells.
The crossfire effect: During treatment with BEXXAR, the radioisotope Iodine-131 gives off radiation that may kill normal and cancerous B cells. It may also kill other cells that are nearby, including normal cells.
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How BEXXAR Works
