Pharmacokinetic failure of obinutuzumab due to massive third-space sequestration in a patient with high-burden follicular lymphoma: A rationale for therapeutic drug monitoring and dose intensification Free

Background: Obinutuzumab is a cornerstone therapy for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL). While high tumor burden (quantified as Baseline Sum of Longest Diameters, BSIZ) is known to increase antibody clearance via target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD), the pharmacokinetic (PK) impact of massive third-space fluid accumulation (such as ascites and pleural effusions), commonly observed in advanced lymphoma, remains poorly characterized. This can lead to suboptimal drug exposure and treatment failure, which may be misattributed to primary tumor resistance. We report a case where therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) revealed profound pharmacokinetic failure as the underlying cause of an inadequate clinical response.

Methods: A 37-year-old man with 5-year history of grade 2 follicular lymphoma (diagnosed 2019) was admitted in April 2025 with worsening anasarca, dyspnea, and night sweats. Physical examination and PET/CT demonstrated extensive lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, chylous pleural and peritoneal effusions, and subcutaneous edema. The patient's BSLD was exceptionally high, with the largest retroperitoneal mass measuring 11.1 × 5.8 cm. Laboratory tests revealed markedly elevated β2-microglobulin (5.08 mg/L) and LDH (253 U/L), with ECOG performance status of 3. He was initiated on obinutuzumab-based chemotherapy (1000 mg on Days 1, 8, 15 of Cycle 1; then 1000 mg Day 1 of Cycles 2–6). Due to minimal clinical response after the first infusion, sequential obinutuzumab concentrations were measured in serum, ascites, and pleural fluid using validated competitive lanthanide-based time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay at multiple timepoints during the first cycle.

Results:PK analysis revealed markedly subtherapeutic pre-dose serum trough concentration (Ctrough) of only 15.98 μg/mL prior to Cycle 2—far below the generally accepted efficacy threshold of >25 μg/mL established in population PK studies. In contrast, obinutuzumab concentrations in third-space fluids were substantial and showed progressive accumulation, peaking on Day 3 at 33.07 μg/mL in ascites and 27.52 μg/mL in pleural effusion. TDM data clearly demonstrated dramatic redistribution of antibody from systemic circulation into chylous effusions, which acted as a large, non-circulating drug reservoir. This sequestration, combined with intense TMDD from massive tumor burden, resulted in accelerated systemic clearance and inadequate antibody levels at tumor sites outside the peritoneal cavity.

Conclusions: This case highlights a critical and underappreciated mechanism of treatment failure in high-burden lymphoma: pharmacokinetic failure due to dual impact of high tumor burden and massive third-space drug sequestration. The resulting subtherapeutic systemic exposure led to poor clinical response that could have been misclassified as primary drug resistance. Our findings underscore the necessity of recognizing the “pharmacokinetic sink” effect in patients with significant serous effusions. In such high-risk cases, standard dosing is likely insufficient. TDM becomes invaluable for diagnosing PK failure and guiding management. We propose that strategies combining aggressive effusion management prior to antibody infusion, along with PK-guided dose intensification, should be strongly considered to overcome this barrier and achieve therapeutic drug exposure and clinical benefit.

RX and QH contributed equally as co-first authors.