tositumomab + carmustine + etoposide + cytarabine + melphalan

This drug combination is a high-dose conditioning regimen used prior to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The regimen, often referred to as Bexxar/BEAM, integrates the radioimmunotherapeutic agent tositumomab (an iodine-131 labeled murine anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) with the standard BEAM chemotherapy backbone, which consists of carmustine (BCNU), etoposide, cytarabine (Ara-C), and melphalan. Tositumomab provides targeted radiation to CD20-positive B-cells, while the BEAM components provide intensive myeloablative chemotherapy to eradicate residual malignant cells. This specific regimen was the subject of the Phase III BMT CTN 0401 trial, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which compared its efficacy and safety against a rituximab-based BEAM regimen.

Brand names

BexxarBiCNUEtopophosCytosar-UAlkeran

Other names

Iodine-131 tositumomab + BEAMtositumomab/BEAMBexxar-BEAM