WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The cancer drug rituximab can help heal the kidneys of patients with a common condition known as membranous nephropathy, Italian researchers reported on Wednesday.

The drug, sold under the brand name Rituxan by Genentech and Biogen Idec Inc and as MabThera by Roche AG in Europe, suppresses the rogue immune cells that cause the condition, the researchers found.

Writing in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, they said their findings suggest the condition, which causes kidney failure in 30 percent to 40 percent of cases, can be cured in some patients.

"Whether thibe rejected.