ANTI-IDIOTYPIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY (AIMA) THERAPY HAS CURATIVE POTENTIAL FOR LOW-GRADE B-CELL LYMPHOMAS THROUGH IMMUNOLOGIC DOWN REGULATION OF THE MALIGNANT IDIOTYPIC CLONE AS WELL AS ANTIBODY-DEPENDENT CELL MEDIATED CYTOTOXICITY.

ANTI-IDIOTYPIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY (AIMA) THERAPY HAS CURATIVE POTENTIAL FOR LOW-GRADE B-CELL LYMPHOMAS THROUGH IMMUNOLOGIC DOWN REGULATION OF THE MALIGNANT IDIOTYPIC CLONE AS WELL AS ANTIBODY-DEPENDENT CELL MEDIATED CYTOTOXICITY. PRODUCTION OF AIMA IS PATIENT-SPECIFIC AND LABOR INTENSIVE REQUIRING A MEDIAN OF 912 MONTHS UTILIZING THE CLASSICAL MURINE MYELOMA $ HUMAN B-CELL HYBRIDOMA APPROACH. THE INITIAL PORTION OF THE TASK INVOLVING ISOLATION OF IDIOTYPE IS MOST OFTEN RATE LIMITING DUE TO THE LOW FUSION FREQUENCY AND INSTABILITY OF MOUSE $ HUMAN HYBRIDS. TIME AND LABOR CONSIDERATIONS HAVE LIMITED EVALUATION OF AIMA. PRESUMING AIMA CONTINUES TO SHOW PROMISING RESULTS IN PATIENTS WITH REFRACTORY DISEASE IN SMALL CLINICAL TRIALS, RANDOMIZED TRIALS TESTING THE WORTH OF AIMA AS CONSOLIDATION TREATMENT AFTER REMISSION INDUCTION WOULD BE FEASIBLE ONLY IF ANTI-IDIOTYPE COULD RELIABLY BE PRODUCED COMMERCIALLY FOR 75% OF PATIENTS AND IF THE PRODUCTION TIME WERE 6 MONTHS. 1.PREPARING ANTI-IDIOTYPE IN A COMMERCIAL LABORATORY AND2.IMPROVING THE IDIOTYPE HARVEST AS WELL AS TO SHORTEN THE PRODUCTION INTERVAL BY TRANSFORMING MALIGNANT