# B cell

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/b-cell/  
OnCo record `b-cell` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The immune cells that make antibodies. They matter in cancer twice over: as the source of every therapeutic antibody, and as the cells that go wrong in most lymphomas, leukaemias and myeloma.

## Summary

Each B cell makes one antibody; when it meets its antigen it multiplies and matures into plasma cells that pump out that antibody in bulk, which is the response the hybridoma technique captured to make monoclonal antibodies. B cells carry surface markers (CD19, CD20, CD22) throughout their lives and plasma cells carry BCMA, and these markers make B-cell cancers (most lymphomas, CLL, ALL, myeloma) the most successful targets of rituximab, CAR-T and bispecific antibodies; since normal B cells are also wiped out, patients need antibody replacement and are prone to infection. B cells inside solid tumours, organised into structures resembling lymph nodes, are associated with better responses to immunotherapy.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: B cells; B-cell; B-cells; B lymphocyte; B lymphocytes; plasma cell; plasma cells; antibody-producing cells

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_cell
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_cell

## Connected records

- terms: [Antibody](https://onco.cc/terms/antibody/), [Immune system](https://onco.cc/terms/immune-system/), [Leukaemia (tissue type)](https://onco.cc/terms/leukaemia-type/), [Lymphoma (tissue type)](https://onco.cc/terms/lymphoma-type/), [Monoclonal](https://onco.cc/terms/monoclonal/), [T cell](https://onco.cc/terms/t-cell/)
- cancers: [Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/all-leukemia/), [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/dlbcl/), [Multiple myeloma](https://onco.cc/cancers/multiple-myeloma/)
- technologies: [CAR-T cell therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/car-t/), [T-cell engagers (bispecific)](https://onco.cc/technologies/t-cell-engager/)
- targets: [BCMA](https://onco.cc/targets/bcma/), [CD19](https://onco.cc/targets/cd19/), [CD20](https://onco.cc/targets/cd20/), [CD38](https://onco.cc/targets/cd38/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/b-cell.json