DLBCL Treatment in Children and Adolescents

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive lymphoma that accounts for approximately 10%-20% of pediatric and adolescent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs).

The incidence increases with age, with 37% of NHLs patients being adolescents aged. Poor survival has been demonstrated in adolescents and young adults compared to children with DLBCL. However, the Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) LNH-97 study showed that age was not a poor prognostic factor in children and adolescents with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and DLBCL. A conclusion as to whether adolescent age is an independent risk factor has not been reached.

At present, the preferred protocols for adolescent DLBCL patients have not been standardized. Adolescents with cancer have been designated as a vulnerable population, positioned between children and the adult population. Treatment strategies differ between adults and pediatric patients. The pediatric strategy for DLBCL was developed in parallel by the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) and French-American-British/Lymphomes Malins B (FAB/LMB) groups. The combination of rituximab plus Cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, Vincristine, and Prednisone (R-CHOP) or R-CHOP-like chemotherapy regimens are the standard therapy for the treatment of adult patients with DLBCL. There is currently a lack of studies that have compared the treatment outcomes in adolescent patients with DLBCL who were administered pediatric or adult regimens. Hence, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in DLBCL patients, especially the efficacy and safety of the pediatric regimen (modified NHL-BFM-90) and adult regimen (R-CHOP/CHOP), between pediatric and adolescent DLBCL patients.