British journal of haematology
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The addition of rituximab has improved outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), however, there remains limited information on the impact of rituximab in those with testicular involvement. All patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma and testicular involvement treated with curative intent were identified in the British Columbia Cancer Agency Lymphoid Cancer Database. In total, 134 patients diagnosed between 1982 and 2015 with diffuse large cell lymphoma involving the testis were identified: 61 received CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone)-like chemotherapy and 73 received CHOP plus rituximab (R-CHOP). ⋯ However, in a competing risk multivariate analysis including central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis and the CNS-IPI, rituximab was not associated with a decreased risk of CNS relapse. The addition of rituximab has reduced the risk of lymphoma recurrence in testicular DLBCL, presumably through improved eradication of systemic disease. However, CNS relapse risk remains high and further studies evaluating effective prophylactic strategies are needed.
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Cross-sectional imaging techniques are being increasingly used for disease evaluation in patients with multiple myeloma. Whole body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) scanning is superior to plain radiography in baseline assessment of patients but changes following treatment have not been systematically explored. We carried out paired WB-MRI scans in 21 newly diagnosed patients prior to, and 8-weeks after, starting chemotherapy, and analysed stringently selected focal lesions (FLs) for parametric changes. ⋯ When analysed on a per-patient basis, all patients achieving CR/VGPR had a significant sFF increase in their FL's, in contrast to patients achieving ≤PR. sFF changes in patients reaching maximal response within 100 days (fast responders) were greater compared to slow responders (P = 0·001). Receiver Operator Characteristic analysis indicated that sFF changes at 8 weeks were the best biomarker (area under the Curve 0·95) for an inferior response (≤PR). We conclude that early lesional sFF changes may provide important information on depth of response, and are worthy of further prospective study.