Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of 123 Patients with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma of Waldeyer’s Ring

Objective  To investigate the clinical characteristics, prognostic factor and treatment strategy of primary Waldeyer’s ring diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(WR-DLBCL) patients.

Methods  A total of 123 WR-DLBCL patients who were initially diagnosed and treated in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2006 to June 2014 were retrospectively analysed, including clinical characteristics, treatment and survival. Kaplan-Meier method was used for evaluating the 3- and 5-year overall survival(OS) rates. Log-rank method was used to evaluate the significance tests. Multivariate analysis was carried out with the Cox proportional hazard model.

Results  Among 123 patients, the median age was 56(16-80) years old, including 72 males. Twenty patients were Ann Arbor stageⅠ, 63 patients were stageⅡ, 23 patients were stage Ⅲ, and 17 patients were stage Ⅳ. After a median follow-up of 54 months, the 3- and 5-year OS were 74.7% and 56.3%, and those of stageⅠ-Ⅱwere 84.2% and 69.4%. The univariate analysis revealed that the age, performance status, B symptoms, Ann Arbor stage, international prognostic index (IPI), serum LDH and short-term treatment response were the prognostic factors; multivariate analysis showed that IPI scores and short-term treatment response had significant effects on the prognosis.

Conclusion  Most WR-DLBCL patients have stageⅠ-Ⅱdisease and lower tumor burdens, longer survival through chemotherapy and radiotherapy. IPI and short-term treatment response were the independent prognosis factors for WR-DLBCL patients.