Clinical features and survival outcomes of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: analysis of web-based data from the Korean Lymphoma Working Party Registry

Background: This study aimed to survey the clinical spectrum of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in terms of epidemiology, pathologic subtypes, stage, and prognostic index as well as treatment outcomes.

Methods: In 2007-2008, 13 university hospitals evenly distributed in the Korean peninsula contributed to the online registry of DLBCL at www.lymphoma.or.kr and filed a total of 1,665 cases of DLBCL recorded since 1990.

Results: Our analysis showed a higher prevalence of DLBCL in male than in female individuals (M:F=958:707), and extranodal disease was more common than primary nodular disease (53% vs. 47%). Among the 1,544 patients who had been treated with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) or rituximab-CHOP (R-CHOP) therapy with or without radiation, 993 (63.9%) were alive, with 80% free of disease, 417 were dead (26.8%), with 13% free of disease, and 144 (9.3%) were lost to follow-up, with 23% free of disease. Age below 60 years, stage at diagnosis, international prognostic index (IPI) score regardless of age, and addition of rituximab to CHOP therapy in low- and low-intermediate-risk groups according to IPI scores significantly increased survival duration.

Conclusion: The epidemiology, clinical spectrum, and biological behavior of DLBCL in Korea are similar to those observed in Western countries, and the advent of rituximab improved survival.