Is Rituxan as a maintenance drug considered a chemotherapy drug?
Question posted by babcia on 19 Jan 2013
Last updated on 22 December 2016
Answers
Rituxan is definitely a chemotherapy drug.
Rituxan (rituximab) is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.
Rituxan is used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This medicine is also used in combination with another drug called methotrexate to treat symptoms of adult rheumatoid arthritis.
Rituxan is also used in combination with steroid medicines to treat certain rare disorders that cause inflammation of blood vessels and other tissues in the body.
.Thanks. I'm caring for my elderly sister whose diagnosis is follicular b-cell lymphoma. She's now on Rituxan maintenance. She is comfortable saying to everyone that she's "done my chemo... only maintenance". There's no point in changing her mind. I just needed my interpretation confirmed for questions from family and friends. Again, very helpful.
She would have finished the induction chemo, which is the intensive cycles as part of the protocol. She is obviously in remission now but this maintenance phase of the chemotherapy is also extremely important.
Rituxan is NOT a chemotherapy drug, it's a monoclonal antibody.
RITUXAN is not chemotherapy. RITUXAN is a type of antibody therapy that can be used alone or with chemotherapy. They work in different ways to find and attack the cells where cancer starts. RITUXAN targets and attaches to the CD20 protein found on the surface of blood cells with cancer and some healthy blood cells.
Related topics
rituxan, non-hodgkin's lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, maintenance
Further information
- Rituxan uses and safety info
- Rituxan prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Rituxan (detailed)
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