Data on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) from the OncoCollect Lymphoma group registry were recently published in Frontiers in Oncology. The registry was initially formed “to address challenges in the collection of retrospective data through chart review, recording access to anthracycline and rituximab-based treatment, and to study outcomes and any improvement in the patient follow-up.” In an analysis of the DLBCL sub-population, lead author Reena Nair, MBBS, MD, and colleagues concluded that “DLBCL remains the most common subtype (44%), although it is curable with standard therapies.”
Between 2011 and 2017, a total of 5,885 patients with lymphoma were registered at nine participating medical centers in India and added to the OncoCollect registry. Of these, 2,581 patients (44%) had DLBCL. According to the report, among DLBCL cases in the registry, the gender ratio was 1.6 to 1 (men to women) and the median age at presentation was 57 years. Of the DLBCL patients, 1,961 were evaluable for frontline therapy, 43% patients had early-stage disease, 70% had low or low-intermediate International Prognostic Index (IPI) score, 53% had extranodal disease, and 30.9% had one or more comorbidities. The most common extranodal sites were gastrointestinal (23.98%) and head and neck (19.24%).
Regarding treatment outcomes, the overall response rate was 79.29%. Responses included complete remission in 61.75% of patients, partial response in 17.5%, stable disease in 4.3%, and progressive disease in 7.9%. The rates of three-year event-free survival (EFS) between patients who received anthracycline-based and rituximab-based therapies were similar, at 69.67% and 68.48%, respectively.
Per its initial design objectives, the OncoCollect lymphoma group registry data supported this follow-up analysis of patients with DLBCL, and the study’s authors summarized that DLBCL “is curable with standard anthracycline- and rituximab-based therapies. The availability of rituximab has increased the proportion of patients receiving standard chemoimmunotherapy.”
