Rituximab addition to chemotherapy in real world patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: effective in first line but indication of lack of efficacy in subsequent lines of therapy.

The article offers information on a study regarding rituximab (R) addition to chemotherapy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It mentions that the effectiveness of +R in the first-line treatment of CLL patients is not restricted to selected patients in RCTs. It states that the loss of CD20 and changes in cell surface markers CD55 and CD59, leading to diminished antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and attenuated complement dependent cell lysis.