China Advanced Treatment Update: Ruijin Hospital's PSB202 Study Highlights a New China-Originated Pathway for Relapsed B-cell Lymphoma
Quick Answer / What Happened
A recent Shangguan News report described a Ruijin Hospital-led study on PSB202, a China-developed CD20/CD37 bifunctional antibody being studied for relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma. The report centered on a 58-year-old patient who had lived with B-cell lymphoma for 25 years and had relapsed after multiple treatment regimens. According to the report, after entering the PSB202 study pathway through Ruijin Hospital's hematology team, she achieved complete remission by week 12 and had maintained complete remission for more than one year. The broader significance is that this study reflects a China-originated research chain moving from target selection and molecular design into early human clinical research.
According to Shangguan News, the patient had first been diagnosed with marginal zone lymphoma in 1999. She achieved remission after CHOP chemotherapy, relapsed in 2016, and then achieved remission again after R-CHOP. Over the following years, she received several additional treatment approaches, including lenalidomide-based therapy, PI3K inhibitor plus rituximab, R2ICE, and BR. By the time she relapsed again in 2024, the report said she had already gone through six treatment regimens.
The article reported that she later met the hematology team at Ruijin Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, led by Professor Zhao Weili. After receiving PSB202, the report described mild fever but no major discomfort after the first infusion, followed by tumor shrinkage. By week 12, imaging reportedly showed no visible tumor, and she had maintained complete remission for more than one year at the time of publication.
This is a reported patient case, not a general treatment expectation. Its importance is that it shows how an early-stage China-developed therapy was studied in a patient who had already experienced repeated relapse and multiple prior treatment lines.
Why This Matters
The Shangguan News article connected the patient story to a paper published by Professor Zhao Weili's team in Journal of Hematology & Oncology. The published paper describes PSB202 as a first-in-class bifunctional antibody targeting CD20 and CD37 in relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies.
The source explained the clinical problem this way: some patients with B-cell lymphoma relapse even after CD20 antibody therapy and chemotherapy. In some cases, the issue is not simply that cancer cells lose the CD20 marker. The surrounding immune microenvironment may also become less effective, with NK cells, macrophages, and T cells failing to clear the tumor effectively.
Instead of adding a CD3 target to force T-cell engagement, the Ruijin team and its collaborators chose a different direction. They focused on CD37, another marker expressed on many B-cell lymphomas. According to the report, the team found that combining CD20 and CD37 targeting could create a dual-anchoring effect on cancer cells and help recruit immune-cell killing through antibody- and complement-mediated mechanisms.
The published paper similarly describes PSB202 as a bifunctional antibody that co-targets CD20 and CD37 and depletes malignant B cells independently of T-cell engagement. In the phase Ia study reported in the paper, 15 heavily pretreated patients were enrolled. The paper reported a manageable safety profile, preliminary antitumor activity, and no cytokine release syndrome in the early study population. Because the sample size was small, the findings still need larger-scale validation.
What International Patients Should Understand
One of the most important points in the Shangguan News report is that the PSB202 program was presented as a complete China-originated research chain: target selection, molecular design, in vitro screening, animal validation, phase I human research, and single-cell mechanism exploration.
According to the published paper and ClinicalTrials.gov-linked trial information, PSB202 is being studied in an international multicenter phase I trial in China, the United States, and Australia. That matters because it shows a China-developed Class 1 new drug entering human research across multiple countries, not only within China.
For international patients and families, this kind of update helps broaden the way China is understood. China should not be viewed only through the lens of cost or speed. In selected fields, Chinese hospitals, academic teams, and biopharma companies are also creating original therapeutic approaches and participating in global clinical research.
For patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma, the real decision is often not one treatment versus another in isolation. Families may need to compare hospital expertise, prior treatment history, biomarker status, clinical trial possibilities, toxicity risk, timing, travel feasibility, and cost structure.
What This Does NOT Mean
This does not mean PSB202 is suitable or accessible for every patient with lymphoma. It does mean that China is producing serious, source-backed oncology innovation that may be worth tracking when patients are comparing advanced treatment possibilities across countries.
How CareNavigator Can Help Patients Evaluate Relevance
CareNavigator helps patients organize this kind of information and understand whether a China-based specialist review, hospital pathway, or research-linked option may be worth exploring. The goal is to help families compare more clearly, identify better access or timing when available, reduce avoidable delays in record preparation, intake coordination, and option comparison where possible, and compare cost structures to identify more cost-effective pathways where appropriate.
FAQ
What is PSB202?
PSB202 is an investigational antibody approach targeting CD20 and CD37 on B cells. The NCI Drug Dictionary classifies PSB202 as a combination of two engineered monoclonal antibodies. Separately, the Journal of Hematology & Oncology paper published by Professor Zhao Weili's team describes PSB202 as a first-in-class bifunctional antibody co-targeting CD20 and CD37 in relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies.
Is PSB202 already a standard treatment?
The reviewed sources describe PSB202 in an early clinical trial context, including phase Ia data and an active clinical trial listing. Any patient-specific relevance would need specialist review under the applicable hospital, trial, and regulatory framework.
Why is CD20/CD37 dual targeting important?
CD20 is already a major B-cell target in lymphoma treatment. CD37 is another B-cell-associated target. The source reported that dual targeting may help improve immune-mediated tumor-cell killing without relying on CD3-mediated T-cell engagement.
Why does this matter for China-focused oncology care?
The case and study show that China is not only adopting imported oncology innovation. In some areas, Chinese hospitals, researchers, and biopharma teams are developing original treatment candidates and testing them in international clinical research settings.
Tell us what your family is trying to decide. Contact CareNavigator and provide your diagnosis, current treatment situation, records, and key questions. We can help you search for relevant advanced treatment pathways in China, understand which options may be worth reviewing, and prepare for informed conversations with qualified medical teams.
Related CareNavigator Resources
- China Advanced Treatment Updates
- Why China
- How CareNavigator Helps
- China Treatment Navigation Guide
- CAR-T Treatment in China: Cost, Eligibility, and Pathway
- CAR-T Cell Therapy in China
- How to Compare Cancer Hospitals in China Before You Decide
Source-Led Update Note
This article summarizes publicly available reporting and cited source materials about medical developments in China. It is not CareNavigator's independent clinical assessment of the therapy and should not be read as medical advice for any individual patient. CareNavigator helps patients organize records, understand whether a reported China-based pathway may be relevant, and prepare for informed conversations with qualified medical teams. Patient eligibility, risks, benefits, availability, and treatment decisions should be assessed by licensed clinicians and the responsible medical institution.
Source Notes
Primary media source: Shangguan News / Wenhui Daily article captured as PDF, titled "抗癌25年反复复发，瑞金医院最新研究让她的肿瘤“消失”了", published 2026-06-16, author Tang Wenjia, correspondent Li Dong. Original URL shown in source materials: https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=1129077. Direct web page may currently show as unavailable or template-only.
Academic source: Wang L, Liu J, Zhou K, et al. "A first-in-class bifunctional antibody targeting CD20 and CD37 remodels the immune microenvironment in relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies." Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 2026. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13045-026-01796-5
Drug reference: NCI Drug Dictionary, anti-CD20/CD37 monoclonal antibody combination PSB202. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-drug/def/anti-cd20-cd37-monoclonal-antibody-combination-psb202
Clinical trial reference: NCI clinical trial listing for PSB202 in previously treated relapsed indolent B-cell malignancies. https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-search/v?id=NCI-2022-04194