Using the pathology report in initial treatment decisions for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: time for a precision...

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non Hodgkin lymphoma in the Western world, and is potentially curable with standard R-CHOP chemoimmunotherapy. Historically, clinical risk assessments provided prognostic information, but did not define treatment approach. We are now in an era where the heterogeneity of DLBCL is defined genetically and molecularly, and rational subset-specific therapeutic targets are guiding clinical trials. Primary mediastinal DLBCL is a unique clinicopathologic entity, and alternatives to R-CHOP may confer superior outcome. Rearrangement of the myc oncogene occurs in ~10% of patients with DLBCL, and confers a very poor prognosis with standard R-CHOP, particularly when there is concomitant rearrangement of bcl-2, a condition referred to as "double-hit" DLBCL. A larger subset of DLBCL demonstrates overexpression of both myc and bcl-2 by immunohistochemistry. Cell of origin, determined by gene expression analysis, immunohistochemistry algorithms, or a novel Lymph2Cx platform, provides prognostic information, and guides therapeutic decisions in both relapsed and de novo disease. This article will define specific subsets of DLBCL and provide subtype-specific treatment options, including novel approaches under investigation. Understanding these key features of the pathology report, and limitations of these assays defining subsets of DLBCL, allows for an evolving precision medicine approach to this disease.