Effect of second-line chemotherapy in treating relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma and prognosis...

To investigate the efficacy of second-line regimen in treating relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to analyze relevant prognostic factors.

The clinical data of 105 patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL admitted and treated from July 2004 to June 2016 were retrospectively reviewed, the response rate after chemotherapy was assessed, and overall survival (OS) was calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. Moreover, Cox regression model was adopted for multivariate analysis, so as to find the independent prognostic factors influencing patient's OS.

Among the 105 patients, there were 67 males and 38 females, with a median age of 57.54 years. There were 31 cases of CR and 21 cases of PR, and the objective response rate (ORR) was 49.5%. In addition, early progression or recurrence <12 months of relapsed or refractory DLBCL and high-risk international prognostic index (IPI) were the negative factors for response rate to chemotherapy. At the end of follow-up, the median OS of the patients was 14.7 months, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 12.4 months. Among the patients, the 1-year OS and 1-year PFS rates were 59.0% and 50.5%, respectively, the 2-year OS and 2-year PFS rates were 41.9% and 38.1%, respectively, and the 3-year OS and 3-year PFS rates were 30.5% and 27.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that high-risk IPI was an independent risk factor influencing the survival of patients, and response rate after chemotherapy was an independent prognostic indicator for improving the OS rate of patients.

Different chemotherapy regimens as second-line treatment for relapsed or refractory DLBCL are effective and safe. High-risk IPI is an independent risk factor influencing the survival of patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, and response rate after chemotherapy is an independent prognostic indicator for extending the OS of patients.