Radioimmunotherapy of refractory or relapsed Hodgkin's lymphoma with 90Y-labelled antiferritin antibody.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of radiolabelled rabbit polyclonal antiferritin antibody in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma. The protocol included a first intravenous injection of In-labelled antiferritin antibody, followed by immunoscintigraphy at 4, 48 and 72 h, and an intravenous injection of Y-labelled antiferritin antibody in the case of tumour targeting. Ten patients were included in the study: median number of chemotherapy regimens: 3; number of autografted patients: 8; number of previously irradiated patients: 9; response to last chemotherapy: six partial response and four progressions. All immunoscintigraphies showed tumour targeting. Nine patients were treated, as the last patient died from progressive Hodgkin's lymphoma before therapeutic injection. Median injected activity was 12 MBq/kg (0.32 mCi/kg). Among the 10 patients who were included in the study, one complete response and six partial responses were observed (overall response rate 70%) with a median duration of response of 8 months (range: 7-12 months). Toxicity was mainly haematological, with grade 1 or 2 neutropenia and anaemia, and grade 2 and 3 thrombocytopenia. The pharmacokinetic study showed that the half-lives of In and Y were almost identical. These results confirm those previously reported and show the therapeutic potential of rabbit polyclonal antiferritin antibody in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma. They therefore justify further multicentre prospective trials.