A single dose of antibodies laced with radioactive iodine can wipe out a usually fatal form of cancer in the lymphatic system, researchers reported on Wednesday. A new treatment for advanced-stage follicular lymphoma known as the Bexxar therapeutic regimen was found to shrink tumors in 95 percent of patients, researchers said. And it took a fraction of the time of traditional chemotherapy with fewer side effects. The non-Hodgkins lymphoma affects about 60,000 people in the United States and is not considered curable using traditional treatments. Even when patients initially respond to treatment, the disease almost always comes back and becomes more difficult to treat. Lymphoma is a cancer that affects immune cells in the lymphatic system, which helps filter out germs and is important in fighting disease. The Bexxar treatment is already approved for people with follicular lymphoma once conventional chemotherapy has failed. The study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, was designed to see if the treatment should be given as a first line of attack. --More 2331 Local Time 2031 GMT
