CD20 is a B-cell marker; rituximab against it was the first antibody approved for cancer, in 1997. This dossier gathers the 6 products (6 approved), 12 trials, 1 pathway and 1 resistance route in the corpus that involve it, with external identifiers so it can be joined to UniProt, ChEMBL, Open Targets and the rest of biology.
Biology
CD20 is a tetraspanin regulating B-cell calcium flux; it is not internalised, favouring effector-based antibodies over ADCs.
- DLBCL
- Follicular lymphoma
- CLL
- Mantle cell lymphoma
Elsewhere: identifiers and databases
Built from HGNC, Ensembl, UniProt and ChEMBL idsHow common it is, by cancer
Full matrix →| Cancer | Prevalence | Measure | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | >95% | Surface expression | Wikipedia | |
| Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia | >90% | Dim surface expression | Wikipedia |
Approximate, population-level figures; the measure column says what was counted. Ranges show the midpoint as a bar.
Products by modality and phase
Browse products →| Modality | Approved |
|---|---|
| T-cell engager 4 | |
| Antibody 2 |
Trials
Evidence ranking →| Trial | Phase | Status | Setting | Result | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPCORE DLBCL-1 NCT04628494 | 3 | Mixed | R/R DLBCL after ≥1 line, transplant-ineligible: epcoritamab monotherapy vs investigator's choice (R-GemOx or BR) | PFS HR 0.74; OS HR 0.96 (NS). | |
| SUNMO NCT05171647 | 3 | Positive | R/R LBCL, transplant-ineligible: mosunetuzumab + polatuzumab vs R-GemOx | PFS improved (HR reported 2025). | |
| AMPLIFY NCT03836261 | 3 | Positive | Fit, previously untreated CLL without del(17p)/TP53: fixed-duration acalabrutinib + venetoclax (AV) or + obinutuzumab (AVO) vs FCR/BR chemoimmunotherapy | 3-year PFS 76.5% (AV) / 83.1% (AVO) vs 66.5%. | |
| STARGLO NCT04408638 | 3 | Mixed | R/R DLBCL, transplant-ineligible, ≥1 prior line: glofitamab + GemOx vs rituximab + GemOx | OS HR 0.62; FDA CRL 2025 over applicability. | |
| CLL13 / GAIA NCT02950051 | 3 | Positive | Fit, previously untreated CLL without del(17p)/TP53: chemoimmunotherapy (FCR/BR) vs venetoclax-rituximab vs venetoclax-obinutuzumab vs venetoclax-obinutuzumab-ibrutinib | 5-year PFS 81.3% (GIV), 69.8% (GV), 57.4% (RV), 50.7% (CIT). | |
| SEQUOIA NCT03336333 | 3 | Positive | Previously untreated CLL/SLL unsuitable for FCR: zanubrutinib vs bendamustine-rituximab (cohort 1); zanubrutinib in del(17p) (arm C); zanubrutinib + venetoclax (arm D) | PFS HR 0.42 vs BR; 5-year PFS 72.2% in del(17p). | |
| GLOW NCT03462719 | 3 | Positive | Previously untreated CLL, age ≥65 or with comorbidities, no del(17p)/TP53: fixed-duration ibrutinib + venetoclax vs chlorambucil + obinutuzumab | PFS HR 0.216; OS HR 0.487 (4-year). | |
| CLL14 NCT02242942 | 3 | Positive | Previously untreated CLL with coexisting conditions: 12 months of venetoclax + obinutuzumab vs chlorambucil + obinutuzumab | 6-year PFS 53.1% vs 21.7%; HR 0.40. | |
| ELEVATE-TN NCT02475097 | 3 | Positive | Previously untreated CLL, age ≥65 or with comorbidities: acalabrutinib ± obinutuzumab vs chlorambucil + obinutuzumab | 6-year median PFS not reached vs 27.8 months; OS HR 0.62 (A+O). | |
| CELESTIAL-TNCLL NCT06073821 | 3 | Active | Previously untreated CLL/SLL: fixed-duration sonrotoclax + zanubrutinib vs venetoclax + obinutuzumab | ||
| EPCORE DLBCL-2 NCT05578976 | 3 | Active | Untreated DLBCL: epcoritamab + R-CHOP vs R-CHOP | ||
| EPCORE NHL-1 NCT03625037 | 2 | Positive | R/R LBCL after ≥2 lines (single-arm expansion): epcoritamab monotherapy | ORR 63%, CR 39%. |
Resistance routes that involve this target
Unaddressed routes →Alternative splicing, mutation, or lineage switch (to myeloid) removes the CD19 epitope.
- CD22 CAR-T, CD20 bispecifics, dual-target CARs
Pathways where it is a node
Pathway-to-drug matrix →- Complement in cancerNode: IgG1 antibody (rituximab) · 3 druggable nodes
Complement is a cascade of blood proteins that punches holes in things marked by antibodies and calls in inflammatory cells. Therapeutic antibodies such as rituximab use it to kill cancer cells; tumours defend themselves with shields (CD46, CD55, CD59), and the cascade's own by-products (C5a) can recruit the myeloid cells that protect the tumour.
Which nodes have drugs →
Companion diagnostics and assays
Assay registry →No companion diagnostic in the registry measures this target.
Preclinical models
All models →No model entry for this target yet; check the cancer entries on the models page.
Open questions
All open questions →No open questions recorded for this target yet. Suggest one.
Ideas and companies
Key papers and the live literature
Preprints →- AMPLIFY: fixed-duration acalabrutinib plus venetoclax, with or without obinutuzumab, versus chemo-immunotherapy in fit CLL patients · New England Journal of Medicine 2025
- EPCORE NHL-1: epcoritamab, a subcutaneous CD20 x CD3 bispecific, in relapsed large B-cell lymphoma including after CAR-T · Journal of Clinical Oncology 2023
- POLARIX: swapping vincristine for the antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin in first-line treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma · New England Journal of Medicine 2022
- ELEVATE-TN: acalabrutinib, alone or with obinutuzumab, against chemo-immunotherapy in untreated CLL · The Lancet 2020
- CLL14: one year of venetoclax plus obinutuzumab instead of chemo-immunotherapy in older, less fit CLL patients · New England Journal of Medicine 2019
- MURANO: two years of venetoclax plus rituximab versus chemo-immunotherapy in relapsed CLL · New England Journal of Medicine 2018
Query for this target: (TITLE:"CD20" OR ABSTRACT:"CD20" OR TITLE:"MS4A1" OR ABSTRACT:"MS4A1") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about CD20, not a curated reading list.
Export
The dossier as machine-readable JSON: identifiers from HGNC, Ensembl, UniProt and ChEMBL, products with status, trials, pathways, hotspots, open questions and assays. The full entity record is in the open API at /api/v1/entities/cd20.json. Licence CC BY 4.0.