Rituximab
Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody used as a therapeutic agent that depletes B lymphocytes.
Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody used as a therapeutic agent that depletes B lymphocytes. It binds the CD20 antigen on the surface of B cells and triggers their destruction through mechanisms including complement-dependent cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and induction of apoptosis, producing a sustained depletion of circulating and tissue B cells. Because CD20 is expressed across most stages of B-cell development but not on stem cells or terminally differentiated plasma cells, rituximab reduces antibody-mediated and B-cell–driven immune activity while sparing the capacity to reconstitute the B-cell compartment. Peripheral CD19+ B-cell counts are commonly followed as a pharmacodynamic marker of the depth and duration of this depletion.
Clinically, rituximab is established in CD20-positive hematologic malignancies, particularly B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas such as follicular lymphoma, where it is combined with chemotherapy agents including cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, bendamustine, and lenalidomide, and where newer regimens pair it with agents such as the CD3×CD20 bispecific antibody epcoritamab. Its B-cell–depleting action has also made it a mainstay of many antibody-mediated and autoimmune conditions, including IgA vasculitis with glomerulonephritis, and neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, where it is often used alongside or in place of other anti-CD20 or anti-CD19 antibodies such as ocrelizumab and inebilizumab. Because prolonged B-cell depletion blunts humoral immunity, rituximab therapy also carries recognized implications for vaccine responsiveness and infection risk.
Where the papers sit
27 papers from the last 6 months study rituximab directly · updated from PubMed 10 Oct 2026
Study type 5 clinical trials · 16 observational · 4 human data · 1 preclinical · 1 unclassified
Themes 4 themes · 1 new direction
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Cross-Disease B-Cell Therapy
Rituximab appears across lymphoma, membranous nephropathy, vasculitis, interstitial lung disease, and systemic sclerosis. The studies address efficacy, remission, pharmacokinetics, and adverse events in unrelated settings. Regimens include methotrexate, thiotepa, ibrutinib, and other immunosuppressants. No single therapeutic direction unifies the cluster.
9 papers · 33.3%
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B-Cell Depletion Across Disorders
B-cell depletion is examined in leukemia, lupus nephritis, neuromyelitis optica, and systemic disease. Comparisons include vemurafenib, zanubrutinib, cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate, and inebilizumab. Outcomes range from hematologic response to renal function and immunologic change. Several papers are unrelated, so the cluster has no common direction.
7 papers · 25.9%
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Follicular Lymphoma Therapy
Relapsed follicular lymphoma care is moving toward combination and immune-directed treatment. Lenalidomide plus rituximab is being tested against rituximab maintenance alone. Epcoritamab combinations are advancing into both relapsed and first-line settings. Progression-free survival, response, relapse, and transformed disease remain central endpoints.
6 papers · 22.2%
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Multiple Sclerosis B-Cell Therapy
B-cell therapy in multiple sclerosis is moving toward direct comparison of rituximab and ocrelizumab. Relapse control, disability, pregnancy-related activity, and late-onset neutropenia recur across the clinical studies. Ocrelizumab and rituximab are being evaluated across treatment and reproductive settings. Safety and long-term disease activity remain open questions.
5 papers · 18.5%
Rituximab becomes a probe of antigen spatial organization rather than a treatment
The biomimetic CD20-cluster model surfaces studied in the investigation of clustered antigenic architectures used rituximab to measure how antigen spacing and heterogeneity affect monoclonal-antibody adhesion, rather than to treat malignancy or autoimmune disease. The study found that tunable CD20 organization on model surfaces could reproduce and extend the antibody’s dependence on antigen clustering and inter-CD20 spacing. This gives rituximab an analytical role as a molecular probe of cell-surface architecture, outside the therapeutic and safety roles used by the other papers 42331022Jun.
Papers
The 27 papers from the last 6 months that study rituximab directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
Cross-Disease B-Cell Therapy (9)
- Real-world pharmacovigilance of rituximab-associated adverse reactions in children and adolescents: Disproportionality signal detection and time-to-onset pattern characterization using the FAERS database. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 29 Sept 2026 PMID 42808785
- Déjà vu. BMJ case reports · 16 Sept 2026 PMID 42749346
- Rituximab in progressive connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease: A multicenter real-world cohort study. Respiratory medicine · 13 Aug 2026 PMID 42595268
- Proteinuria selectivity index as a predictor of remission and rituximab efficacy in primary membranous nephropathy: a single-center retrospective analysis. Renal failure · 31 Jul 2026 PMID 42535733
- Population Pharmacokinetics of Rituximab in Treatment-Naïve Chinese Patients With Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma During Induction Therapy: Clinical Implications. Clinical and translational science · 25 Jul 2026 PMID 42499290
- Rituximab Maintenance Added to Ibrutinib-Containing Therapy in Younger, Untreated Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Results From the TRIANGLE Trial. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 14 Jul 2026 PMID 42447409
- High-intensity immunosuppression versus modern standard care in poor-prognosis diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: A propensity-matched study. Journal of autoimmunity · 26 Jun 2026 PMID 42361515
- Single-dose rituximab as induction therapy in adult IgA vasculitis with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis: a case report with peripheral blood CD19⁺ B-cell monitoring. CEN case reports · 28 Apr 2026 PMID 42050300
- Efficacy and Safety Profile of a Rituximab, Methotrexate, and Thiotepa-Based Regimen in Newly Diagnosed Primary CNS Lymphoma. International journal of cancer · 18 Apr 2026 PMID 41999193
B-Cell Depletion Across Disorders (7)
- Clinical and immunological outcomes of rituximab-based, mycophenolate mofetil-based and cyclophosphamide-based treatment strategies for systemic lupus erythematosus with active kidney involvement from LOOPS registry. RMD open · 25 Sept 2026 PMID 42791028
- Longitudinal Immunophenotypic Changes in Refractory Lupus Nephritis After B-cell Depletion: A 25-year Case Study. In vivo (Athens, Greece) · 28 Aug 2026 PMID 42665415
- Idiopathic fibrosing mediastinitis mimicking malignancy: when imaging deceives. BMJ case reports · 24 Aug 2026 PMID 42637505
- Zanubrutinib versus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab in fit, treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Journal of comparative effectiveness research · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42626928
- Low-dose vemurafenib plus rituximab in frontline and relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia: the Scripps regimen. Blood advances · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42308249
- Reduction-Free Thermolysin Digestion Enables Absolute Protein Quantitation in Plasma in 35 min from Sample to Result. Journal of proteome research · 11 May 2026 PMID 42113895
- Real-World Multicenter Cohort Study of Inebilizumab vs Low-Dose Rituximab in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 27 Apr 2026 PMID 42044464
Follicular Lymphoma Therapy (6)
- PMID 41979337
- Patterns of care, outcomes, and prognostics for transformed follicular lymphoma in the rituximab era. Haematologica · 24 Sept 2026 PMID 42779337
- Epcoritamab with rituximab and lenalidomide as first-line treatment for follicular lymphoma (EPCORE NHL-2): an open-label, multicentre, phase 1/2 b trial. The Lancet. Haematology · 27 Aug 2026 PMID 42660129
- Acute development of EBV+ T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder after treatment with rituximab for follicular lymphoma. Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy · 25 Aug 2026 PMID 42641986
- Comparison of epcoritamab, lenalidomide, and rituximab versus usual care in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Oncoimmunology · 8 Jul 2026 PMID 42415230
- RENOIR phase 3 rituximab-lenalidomide vs rituximab as maintenance treatment in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Blood advances · 25 Jun 2026 PMID 42349017
Multiple Sclerosis B-Cell Therapy (5)
- Disease Activity During Pregnancy and Postpartum in Women With Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Ocrelizumab or Rituximab Before Pregnancy. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 9 Oct 2026 PMID 42854176
- Late-Onset Neutropenia After Rituximab in Multiple Sclerosis: Incidence, Predictors, and Outcomes in a Retrospective Multicenter Cohort. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42743451
- Child Neurology: A Case of Concurrent Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Multiple Sclerosis by 2024 Criteria. Neurology · 22 Jul 2026 PMID 42485588
- Rituximab versus Ocrelizumab in Newly Diagnosed Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. The New England journal of medicine · 1 Jul 2026 PMID 42384870
- Impact of Clustered Antigenic Architectures on the Adhesion of Monoclonal Antibodies: Insights from Biomimetic Model Surfaces. Analytical chemistry · 22 Jun 2026 PMID 42331022
By study type
Clinical trials (5)
- Epcoritamab with rituximab and lenalidomide as first-line treatment for follicular lymphoma (EPCORE NHL-2): an open-label, multicentre, phase 1/2 b trial. The Lancet. Haematology · 27 Aug 2026 PMID 42660129
- Rituximab Maintenance Added to Ibrutinib-Containing Therapy in Younger, Untreated Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Results From the TRIANGLE Trial. Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 14 Jul 2026 PMID 42447409
- Comparison of epcoritamab, lenalidomide, and rituximab versus usual care in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Oncoimmunology · 8 Jul 2026 PMID 42415230
- Rituximab versus Ocrelizumab in Newly Diagnosed Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. The New England journal of medicine · 1 Jul 2026 PMID 42384870
- RENOIR phase 3 rituximab-lenalidomide vs rituximab as maintenance treatment in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Blood advances · 25 Jun 2026 PMID 42349017
Observational studies and case reports (16)
- Disease Activity During Pregnancy and Postpartum in Women With Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Ocrelizumab or Rituximab Before Pregnancy. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 9 Oct 2026 PMID 42854176
- Clinical and immunological outcomes of rituximab-based, mycophenolate mofetil-based and cyclophosphamide-based treatment strategies for systemic lupus erythematosus with active kidney involvement from LOOPS registry. RMD open · 25 Sept 2026 PMID 42791028
- Déjà vu. BMJ case reports · 16 Sept 2026 PMID 42749346
- Late-Onset Neutropenia After Rituximab in Multiple Sclerosis: Incidence, Predictors, and Outcomes in a Retrospective Multicenter Cohort. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42743451
- Longitudinal Immunophenotypic Changes in Refractory Lupus Nephritis After B-cell Depletion: A 25-year Case Study. In vivo (Athens, Greece) · 28 Aug 2026 PMID 42665415
- Acute development of EBV+ T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder after treatment with rituximab for follicular lymphoma. Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy · 25 Aug 2026 PMID 42641986
- Idiopathic fibrosing mediastinitis mimicking malignancy: when imaging deceives. BMJ case reports · 24 Aug 2026 PMID 42637505
- Rituximab in progressive connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease: A multicenter real-world cohort study. Respiratory medicine · 13 Aug 2026 PMID 42595268
- Proteinuria selectivity index as a predictor of remission and rituximab efficacy in primary membranous nephropathy: a single-center retrospective analysis. Renal failure · 31 Jul 2026 PMID 42535733
- Population Pharmacokinetics of Rituximab in Treatment-Naïve Chinese Patients With Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma During Induction Therapy: Clinical Implications. Clinical and translational science · 25 Jul 2026 PMID 42499290
- Child Neurology: A Case of Concurrent Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Multiple Sclerosis by 2024 Criteria. Neurology · 22 Jul 2026 PMID 42485588
- High-intensity immunosuppression versus modern standard care in poor-prognosis diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: A propensity-matched study. Journal of autoimmunity · 26 Jun 2026 PMID 42361515
- Low-dose vemurafenib plus rituximab in frontline and relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia: the Scripps regimen. Blood advances · 17 Jun 2026 PMID 42308249
- Single-dose rituximab as induction therapy in adult IgA vasculitis with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis: a case report with peripheral blood CD19⁺ B-cell monitoring. CEN case reports · 28 Apr 2026 PMID 42050300
- Real-World Multicenter Cohort Study of Inebilizumab vs Low-Dose Rituximab in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders. Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 27 Apr 2026 PMID 42044464
- Efficacy and Safety Profile of a Rituximab, Methotrexate, and Thiotepa-Based Regimen in Newly Diagnosed Primary CNS Lymphoma. International journal of cancer · 18 Apr 2026 PMID 41999193
Human data, design not indexed (4)
- Real-world pharmacovigilance of rituximab-associated adverse reactions in children and adolescents: Disproportionality signal detection and time-to-onset pattern characterization using the FAERS database. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 29 Sept 2026 PMID 42808785
- Zanubrutinib versus fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab in fit, treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Journal of comparative effectiveness research · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42626928
- Impact of Clustered Antigenic Architectures on the Adhesion of Monoclonal Antibodies: Insights from Biomimetic Model Surfaces. Analytical chemistry · 22 Jun 2026 PMID 42331022
- Reduction-Free Thermolysin Digestion Enables Absolute Protein Quantitation in Plasma in 35 min from Sample to Result. Journal of proteome research · 11 May 2026 PMID 42113895
Preclinical: animal, cell and lab studies (1)
- Expansion Microscopy Reveals the Spatial Association of Therapeutic Antibody-Receptor Complexes With Cholesterol-Rich Membrane Domains. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 25 Aug 2026 PMID 42638193
Unclassified: not yet indexed with MeSH (1)
- Patterns of care, outcomes, and prognostics for transformed follicular lymphoma in the rituximab era. Haematologica · 24 Sept 2026 PMID 42779337
Written from 27 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-06-15. Last written: 2026-09-26 by GPT. Reviewed by a human editor on 2026-07-24. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.