Antibody and immunotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common lymphoma and a heterogeneous B-cell disease. The majority of patients with newly-diagnosed disease are cured with first-line combination immunochemotherapy treatment however, those who experience treatment failure have dismal outcomes. Antibody therapies and immunotherapy have provided the single most major advance in the treatment of DLBCL in the last four decades. Rituximab, the first immunotherapy, and a monoclonal antibody targeting CD20, improved DLBCL overall survival when added to chemotherapy two decades ago. Since then, the advent of further 'naked' monoclonal antibodies that target malignant B-cells or stimulate the immune system to kill cancer, as well as antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies have all entered the DLBCL armamentarium; with five antibody therapy approvals in the last six years alone. Here we review the literature on antibodies and immunotherapies for DLBCL and the future directions involving this successful group of drugs.