Signal Pathways and Therapeutic Prospects of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is heterogeneous both clinically and morphologically. Over the past decades, significant advances have been made in the understanding of the molecular genesis, leading to the identification of multiple pathways and molecules that can be targeted for clinical benefit.

The current review aims to present a brief overview of signal pathways of DLBCL, which mainly focus on B-cell antigen Receptor (BCR), Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB), Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase (PI3K) - protein kinase B (Akt) - mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR), Janus Kinase (JAK) - Signal Transducer and Activator (STAT), Wnt/β-catenin, and P53 pathways.

Activation of signal pathways may contribute to the generation, development, chemotherapy sensitivity of DLBCL, and expression of pathway molecules is associated with the prognosis of DLBCL. Some agents targeting these pathways have been proved effective and relevant clinical trials are in progress. These agents used single or combined with chemotherapy/each other might raise the possibility of improving clinical outcomes in DLBCL.

This review presents several signal pathways of DLBCL and targeted agents had a tendency to improve the curative effect, especially in high-risk or relapsed/refractory DLBCL.