[The prognostic significance of plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma]

To retrospectively analyze the prognostic significance of plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in 122 patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Plasma EBV DNA positivity was related to advanced disease stage (P=0.030), B symptoms (P=0.004) and elevated serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) (P=0.001). Furthermore, univariate analysis indicated that plasma EBV DNA level was associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR=0.223, 95%CI 0.096-0.518, P<0.001) and worse progression free survival (PFS) (HR=4.417, 95%CI 1.911-10.208, P<0.001), whereas multivariate analysis showed plasma EBV DNA as a probable independent prognostic factor of clinical outcome(HR=0.409, 95%CI 0.166-1.008, P=0.052).