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About
Lymphoma > Types of Lymphoma > Diffuse Large
B-Cell Lymphomas
Last update: 02/01/2008
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On this Page:
Overview
| Prognosis | Treatment
| Clinical Trials
Subtypes: Primary Mediastinal B-Cell
| CNS involvement | Primary Splenic |
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 TOPIC SEARCH: PubMed: Diagnosis
| Review
| Therapies
| Prognosis
| Refractory
Therapies: ASCO | Medscape
(free login req.) | FDA
| Web |
Overview
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Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas (DLBCL)
A cancer of b-cells (lymphocytes) that normally
reside in the lymphatic system.
The word "diffuse" describes the cell
pattern. B-cells arise from the bone marrow and mature or
differentiate into many cell types that tend to migrate to different
areas of the body.
What is lymphoma?
Briefly, lymphomas result when damage
to DNA occurs to a type of white blood cell (a lymphocyte)
that results in the
abnormal production of proteins that prevents the cells from dying when
they should, or causes sustained rapid cell division. These malignant cells
then may accumulate to form tumors that may enlarge the lymph nodes or
spread to other areas of the lymphatic
system, such as the spleen or
bone marrow. Lymphoma cells can also migrate to, or first appear, outside the
lymphatic system. Lymphoma that presents outside the lymphatic
system is called extranodal
disease. For details, see What's
Lymphoma & Lymphoma simplified.
Initial presentation:
DLBCL typically presents as a nodal or extranodal (outside the
lymphatic system) mass with fast tumour growth associated with systemic symptoms, such
as sweats, fatigue, and fever. In about 40% of cases, these lymphomas
appear in areas outside lymph nodes, including digestive
tract, skin, bone, thyroid, and testes.
Staging: Staging
refers to the how widespread the disease is. Imaging
tests (CT MRI, PET, Gallium) and bone marrow biopsies are commonly
done to estimate this. See Staging for
more detail.
Also see About Transformation
Subtypes of Diffuse Large Cell lymphoma:
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Diffuse Large B-Cell (most common)
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Diffuse Mixed Cell
PubMed abstracts: Review
| Therapy
| Diagnosis
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Immunoblastic Lymphoma
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Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma (see below)
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Primary Splenic Lymphoma (see below)
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Angiocentric Lymphoma - Pulmonary B-Cell |
Key Resources:
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Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a
heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas comprising several
distinct clinicopathological entities - nature.com
full/
"These
studies analyzed DLBCL by their gene expression profile, provided
further information on some of the variants of DLBCL listed in the
WHO classification and stressed the impact of the site of origin
of these tumors. This review summarizes these recent data and
explores their impact on the recognition of new
clinicopathological lymphoma entities."
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Prognosis |
Prognosis/
LymphoChip Findings
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Germinal center B cell-like (GCB)
has a more favorable response to standard therapies
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Activated B cell-like (ABC)
less responsive; pts should consider investigational
treatments.
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Prognosis:
With the arrival of new tests
that determine the molecular characteristics of the lymphoma it's now possible to better determine the odds (or prognosis) of treatment. However, there are many factors that determine response, including age, general health, how widespread the disease is, LDH levels, etc.
Cure rate: Most of the literature indicates that about 40% of DLBCL patients can be cured by combination chemotherapy.
Today, the new standard of treatment for DLBCL is CHOP plus Rituxan and this might improve the
odds. [1]
Safer therapies for the elderly? In older patients, liposomal doxorubicin and possibly liposomal
vincristine might be used to reduce side effects. [2]
Also see Treatments > Lymphoma in elderly patients
New Tests: DNA microarray profiling (LymphoChip) is an advanced test that can identify
two
distinct subtypes of DLBCL, one of which is more likely to respond favorably to combination chemotherapy.
Germinal center B cell-like (GCB)
has a more favorable response to standard therapies.
Activated B cell-like is less responsive. With
this type more aggressive and/or investigational approaches might be
considered.
Still another approach is to determine BCL-6 status as described in the study below.
[3] The conclusion of the study reads: "High BCL-6 mRNA expression should be considered a new favorable prognostic factor in DLBCL and should be used in the stratification and the design of risk-adjusted therapies for patients with
DLBCL."
References:
CHOP chemotherapy plus
rituximab compared with CHOP alone in elderly patients with
diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jan
24;346(4):235-42.
PMID: 11807147 - PubMed
The addition of rituximab to the CHOP regimen increases the
complete-response rate and prolongs event-free and overall
survival in elderly patients with diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma,
without a clinically significant increase in toxicity.
International
prognostic index-based outcomes for diffuse large B-cell
lymphomas.
Cancer. 2002 Jun 15;94(12):3083-8. PMID: 12115338 - PubMed
Expression of a
single gene, BCL-6, strongly predicts survival in patients with
diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood. 2001 Aug 15;98(4):945-51.
PMID: 11493437 - PubMed
A
predictive model for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The
International Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Prognostic Factors Project.
N Engl J Med. 1993 Sep 30;329(14):987-94. PMID: 8141877 - PubMed
Rearrangement of the bcl-6 Gene as a Prognostic Marker in
Diffuse Large-Cell Lymphoma - JAMA
7_19_94
Significance
of CD10 expression - Medscape (requires login)
Genes pointing the way in lymphoma prognosis - cap.org/
Sep 2002
Refining
Prognostic indicators - (Features that predict outcome)
for diffuse b-cell lymphoma described here.
Technical. Bottom line, know that it's possible to do
and share with your treating physician. If in poor-risk
category, discuss avoiding treatments found not to work and
focus on investigational approaches. nih.gov
The Modified International Prognostic Index (IPX)
can predict the outcome of localized primary intestinal lymphoma
of both extranodal Marginal Zone B-Cell and Diffuse Large-B-Cell
Histologies. International Extranodal
Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) British Journal of Haematology,
2002, 118, 218–228 - PDF
| PDF Help
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma outcome
prediction by gene-expression profiling and supervised machine
learning - nature.com
full
We analyzed the expression of 6,817 genes in diagnostic tumor
specimens from DLBCL patients who received (CHOP)-based
chemotherapy ... The model also effectively delineated
patients within specific IPI risk categories who were likely to be
cured or to die of their disease.
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Subtypes |
Primary Splenic Lymphoma
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"Primary
splenic lymphoma (PSL) is rare with a reported incidence of less than
1%. Diffuse large cell pathology has been reported in 22-33% of the
cases and is felt to have a poor outcome. ... Seven of the nine
patients remained in remission from 1 to 19 years. Splenectomy
followed by combination chemotherapy, results in excellent long-term
survival in PSL." [1]
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Postsplenectomy Therapy in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma? - Medscape
(free login req.)
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Primary splenic lymphoma: report of 10 cases using the REAL
classification.
Cancer Invest. 2002;20(5-6):749-53. PMID: 12197231 - PubMed
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DLBC
Lymphoma with
CNS involvement
Also see:
CNS Lymphomas
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TOPIC
SEARCH PubMed: Review
| Therapies
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ASCO |
Medscape
| WEB
"Primary CNS lymphomas (PCNSL), until
recently representing about 1% of all brain tumors, show dramatically
increased incidence both in high-risk groups (immunocompromised, AIDS)
and in the general population. They are extranodal diffuse
non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the morphology and classification of
which are identical to those of systemic lymphomas, although PCNSL
show different biological behavior and diagnosis according to the New
Working Formulation and updated Kiel classification may be difficult.
The majority are large B cell variants of high-grade malignancy;
low-grade subtypes and T cell lymphomas are rare."[1]
Clinical Trial Search: With
CNS involvement
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Primary central nervous system lymphomas--an update.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 1992;119(1):7-27. Review. PMID:
1400570
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Long-term remission of primary central nervous system lymphoma
by intensified methotrexate chemotherapy. J Neurooncol. 2003
May;63(1):87-95. PMID:
12814260
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Treatment |
Treatment
Response to
treatment evaluations: "Specifically, assessing response
[with PET] may be useful in two possible situations: to evaluate tumor response at the end of a full course of treatment, or to predict tumor response early in the course of a prolonged treatment regimen. In the first instance, early detection of treatment failure may permit a physician to institute a second-line therapeutic approach. In the second instance, accurately predicting treatment failure may allow the physician to substitute an alternative regimen, without subjecting the patient to the toxicity of the full course.
" Peter E.
Valk,
MD
Also see: - interactive.snm.org
" The authors concluded that PET was a better predictor
of outcome and response to therapy after just one cycle of
chemotherapy than after completion."
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TOPIC
SEARCH PubMed: Review
| Therapies
| Radiotherapy
| Refractory |
Relapsed
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ASCO | Medscape
| FDA
| WEB
_______________________________________
Overview
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Background articles:
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How I treat patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma,
James O. Armitage MD
In my practice I am extremely reluctant to treat a patient
for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the absence of
an adequate biopsy reviewed by experienced
hematopathologists. I prefer rebiopsy to guessing
about the correct diagnosis.
bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org
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| Medscape (free login req.)
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| Treatment of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Next Steps
- Medscape.com
2004 (free login req.) Review of progress for Follicular, SLL,
Diffuse Large Cell, and Mantle Cell.
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| Treatment of Elderly - PAL
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| Monoclonal Antibodies in Aggressive, De Novo,
or Relapsed Lymphomas - Medscape
(free login req.)
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First Primary Treatment
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Adult wide spread, stage III/IV - standard of
care - Cancer.gov
(fixed)
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Adult, localized, stage I/II - standard of care -
Cancer.gov
(fixed)
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"Dose-densing" is the practice of
shorting the cycle time between infusions of treatment (14 vs 21
days) with the goal of increasing efficacy.
R-CHOP-14 in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma:
feasibility and preliminary efficacy. Leuk Lymphoma. 2005
Apr;46(4):541-7.
PMID:
16019482 | Related
articles
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Combination chemotherapy with adriamycin,
cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate, etoposide and
dexamethasone (ACOMED) followed by involved field radiotherapy
induces high remission rates and durable long-term survival in
patients with aggressive malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphomas:
long-term follow-up of a pilot study. Leuk Lymphoma. 2005
Dec;46(12):1729-34. PMID:
16353313
"After a median observation time of 10 years and 2
months, 16/22 (73%) patients are alive in continuous complete
response without evidence of any late toxicities."
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| CHOP + Rituxan is the standard of treatment
[2005]
for
Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. See CHOP+R
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| Dose-adjusted EPOCH chemotherapy for
untreated large B-cell lymphomas: a pharmacodynamic approach
with high efficacy.
Blood. 2002 Apr 15;99(8):2685-93. PMID:
11929754 - PubMed
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Clinical trials in ClinicalTrials.gov
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Relapsed / Recurrent Diffuse Large B-Cell
Lymphoma
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Adult, Aggressive, Recurrent Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Standard of Care - Cancer.gov
(fixed)
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| Treatment for Refractory Disease - PAL
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| Multicenter study of i.v. Bu/Cy/E as
conditioning regimen for autologous stem cell transplantation in
patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bone
Marrow Transplant. 2007 Sep 10; PMID:
17846602
In conclusion, the conditioning regimen of i.v. Bu/Cy/E was
well tolerated and seemed to be effective in patients with
aggressive NHL
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| Mitoxantrone, carboplatin, cytosine arabinoside,
and methylprednisolone followed by autologous peripheral blood
stem cell transplantation (MiCMA): a salvage regimen for patients
with refractory or recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer. 2006
Feb 15;106(4):859-66. PMID:
16419074
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| Autologous bone marrow transplantation in
B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: very low treatment-related
mortality in 100 patients in sensitive relapse. J Clin Oncol 8
(5): 784-91, 1990. PUBMED
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Reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation for
diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: Clinical evidence of a
graft-versus-lymphoma effect. ASCO
2006
Conclusions: The clinical observations of sustained CR/CRu
after withdrawal of immune suppression and DLI suggest that a GVL
effect exists against DLBC. RI alloSCT should be considered as a
treatment option for pts with primary refractory and relapsed DLBC.
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| High-dose chemotherapy and autologous
hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for aggressive
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 11 (10): 1846-51, 1993.
PUBMED
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| BEAM chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow
transplantation for patients with relapsed or refractory
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. J Clin Oncol 13 (3): 588-95, 1995. PUBMED
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Salvage therapy for relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma remains
poor, except for those patients who have chemotherapy-responsive
disease and are candidates for high-dose therapy.
Preliminary results with a new "standard dose" salvage
regimen were presented. Using a combination of rituximab,
gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin, (R-GEMOX) an overall response
rate of 88% (42% complete responses) was obtained in a small group
of 24 patients.[18] With short follow-up, most of the patients
remained in remission. This regimen, using "newer"
chemotherapeutic agents with presumably less cross-resistance, is
of interest, and further results and follow-up are awaited.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/481477
[18] El-Gnaoui T, Joly B, Dupuis J, et al. Rituximab, gemcitabine
and oxaliplatin (R-GEMOX): a promising regimen for
refractory/relapsed B-cell lymphoma. Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol.
2004;23:578. Abstract 6592.
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| Outcomes: Two
Studies Demonstrate REVLIMID (R) (lenalidomide) Activity In
Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's
Lymphoma - medilexicon.com
"The data from these studies are encouraging in that they
show an impressive response to REVLIMID in relapsed/refractory,
aggressive NHL," said John Leonard, M.D., The Richard T.
Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology Medical Oncology at
Weill Cornell Medical College. "These data justify a wide
exploration of REVLIMID in a variety of lymphoma settings both
alone and in combination, and warrant a detailed assessment of
which patients can particularly benefit."
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| Clinical Trials for relapsed DLBCL-
ClinicalTrials.gov
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Clinical Trials
Also see our NHL treatment-specific links to
ClinicalTrials.gov
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ClinicalTrials.gov
searches by:
Other Trial Resources:
| A Phase 2 Evaluation of Oral LY317615 in Patients with
Relapsed or Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma - unmc.edu
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