Rituximab ( MabThera ) is available to certain NHS patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ( NICE ) has recommended Rituximab, in combination with the chemotherapy drugs Fludarabine ( Fludara ) and Cyclophosphamide ( Endoxan ), for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia except when the condition has not previously responded to Fludarabine or has relapsed within 6 months of treatment, or has previously been treated with Rituximab.

Following an appeal earlier this year, Rituximab in combination with Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide will also be available to patients who have already been treated with Rituximab as part of a clinical trial but at a lower dose to the licensed amount, or who have previously received Rituximab in combination with other chemotherapy drugs as part of a clinical trial.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and is the most common form of leukaemia in the UK ( United Kingdom ). This type of cancer encourages a type of white blood cell called B lymphocytes to grow abnormally, causing anaemia and an increased susceptibility to infection. Rituximab works by targeting a protein called CD-20 that is found on B lymphocytes and cancer cells. It kills these cells, allowing normal lymphocytes to grow and replace those destroyed.

Source: NICE, 2010

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