Germinal center (GC) and non-GC phenotypes are predictors of outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and can be used to stratify chemotherapy-treated patients into low- and high-risk groups. To determine how combination of rituximab with chemotherapy influences GC-associated clinical outcome, GC and non-GC phenotypes were identified immunohistochemically from samples of 90 de novo DLBCL patients treated with rituximab in combination with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone)-like regimen (immunochemotherapy). One hundred and four patients previously treated with chemotherapy served as a control group. Consistent with previous studies, chemotherapy-treated patients with immunohistochemically defined GC phenotype displayed a significantly better overall (OS) and failure-free survival (FFS) than the non-GC group (OS, 70% vs 47%, P = .012; FFS, 59% vs 30%, P = .001). In contrast, immunohistochemically defined GC phenotype did not predict outcome in immunochemotherapy-treated patients (OS, 77% vs 76%, P = ns; FFS, 68% vs 63%, P = ns). In comparison, International Prognostic Index (IPI) could separate the high-risk patients from low- and intermediate-risk groups (OS, 84% vs 63%, P = .030; FFS, 79% vs 52%, P = .028). We conclude that rituximab in combination with chemotherapy seems to eliminate the prognostic value of immunohistochemically defined GC- and non-GC phenotypes in DLBCL.

Purpose: To evaluate the experiences of introducing mid-treatment FDG-PET in patients with aggressive lymphoma, in a population based program with decentralized examinations, with emphasis on finding patients who would benefit from dose-escalation.

Patients and Methods: Twenty-five patients with aggressive lymphoma were included. Twenty-four (95%) of these having an aggressive B-cell lymphoma (84% diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) were treated with CHOP-like treatment given at two week intervals + rituximab. One patient having an anaplastic T-cell lymphoma was treated with CHOEP-14. Mid-treatment FDG-PET was performed and assessed as positive, uncertain or negative for remaining lymphoma. The intention was to perform a biopsy in those with a positive FDG-PET, and, to change to a platina-containing therapy and consolidate with high-dose therapy if viable lymphoma was found. Retrospective review of the PET investigations was done. Living patients were followed for a median of 22 months.

Results: At primary analysis five patients (20%) had positive uptake on FDG-PET. Two of them had biopsy-proven viable tumor but did not complete the planned salvage treatment, one due to chemotherapy toxicity and one due to progressive disease during salvage therapy. Two patients had a negative biopsy and one patient had no biopsy due to technical difficulties at diagnosis. These three patients remain in remission after standard treatment. Out of seven patients (28%) having “uncertain” uptake two relapsed. Thirteen patients (52%) were negative,two of whom relapsed giving a negative predictive value of 85%.

Conclusion: Mid-treatment FDG PET-CT in order to find patients with biopsy-proven aggressive lymphoma, who can be salvaged with dose escalation, was not feasible in clinical routine.

Purpose: To assess the outcome of high–dose therapy with autologous stem cell support (HDT) in patients with transformed follicular lymphoma compared to patients with de novo aggressive B-cell lymphoma, in a retrospective analysis of patients treated at two Swedish university hospitals.

Patients and Methods: 117 patients, mean age 48 years (21-65), 79 with de novo aggressive B-cell lymphoma and 38 with transformed follicular lymphoma, were treated with high-dose-therapy (HDT) as consolidation. Thirteen patients with transformed follicular lymphoma had been treated with a single alkylating agent and 25 were chemonaive at transformation. After transformation, nine patients had HDT as part of first line aggressive therapy, and a further eight failed to obtain CR and had HDT upfront. Twenty-one patients received more than one treatment regimen before HDT. In the de novo aggressive lymphoma group five patients with high risk criteria, and 16 patients who failed to obtain CR, received HDT upfront (CR1), Fifty-eight patients received more than one regimen before HDT because of relapse. Rituximab was given as a single dose to five patients for in vivo purging of the stem cell graft.

Results: With a median follow up of 11.5 years (8-20), event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 35% and 44% respectively. When comparing the two groups, the ten- year EFS rates were 27% in the de novo group and 55% in the transformed group and the ten-year OS was 33 % and 67% respectively. Treatment related mortality was acceptable with 4% early and 3.5% late mortality. In a multivariate analysis, “transformed vs de novo aggressive” histopathology was the only factor significantly related to outcome.

Conclusion: Both EFS and OS were much better in patients with transformed follicular lymphoma compared to patients with de novo aggressive B-cell lymphoma Although the introduction of rituximab certainly has improved the outcome in both groups, HDT should still be considered as a salvage strategy not only in cases of de novo aggressive B-cell lymphoma and especially in transformed follicular lymphoma relapsing after first line treatment..