Head and neck diffuse large B cell lymphomas (HN-DLBCL) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients: long-term results in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era

Primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the head and neck in a Brazilian single-center study

OBJECTIVES

Lymphomas represent around 10% of head and neck neoplasms, among which the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common histologic subtype. In the present study, we characterized demographic parameters, anatomical sites, and survival rates of patients in a Brazilian cancer center.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Single-center retrospective epidemiological study of 243 head and neck DLBCL patients. Demographic characteristics, tumor localization, HIV status, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and treatment modality were obtained from electronic medical records.

RESULTS

The most common primary head and neck tumor location in patients with DLBCL was Waldeyer's ring. Interestingly, age above 80 years, male gender, high LDH levels, and HIV positivity were significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS) rates and increased risk of death. We further demonstrated that treatment had a protective effect, improving OS, and reducing risk of death. Notably, we found no benefit of combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy versus isolated treatment modalities.

CONCLUSION

The study showed that primary head and neck DLBCL is more incident in middle age and elderly patients with a small male patients' majority in a Brazilian population. Moreover, we observed a 3-year OS rate of almost 60% and multivariate analysis showed that treatment was the only protective factor.

Survival and consolidative radiotherapy in patients living with HIV and treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Objectives

Current guidelines tend to treat HIV positive (HIV+) patients as their seronegative counterparts with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) but little is known about their radiotherapy responses differences.

Patients and Methods

A retrospective cohort of all consecutive HIV+ DBCL patients treated with chemotherapy between 2004 and 2018 was assessed. All patients had biopsy-proven lymphomas. They were included if the proposed radical treatment was done without progression or death during chemotherapy and had at least 6 months of follow-up or were followed until death.

Results

Fifty-three (53) patients were selected, with a median age at diagnosis of 41.39 years (20-65 years). Median follow-up of 35.16 months (1.4-178.7 months). Male patients accounted for 54.7% and most had a good performance in the ECOG scale at diagnoses (81.1% are ECOG 0-1). Median overall survival was not reached. Mean OS was 41.5 months with 16 deaths. Age had an impact on OS, with patients older than 60 years at more risk (p = 0.044), as did longtime use of HAART, with those that started antiretroviral therapy within the diagnose of the lymphoma at greatest risk (p = 0.044). RT did not have an impact on OS (p = 0.384) or PFS (p = 0.420), although survival curves show better OS in the radiotherapy group. Toxicities were rare, since none of the patients had grade 3 or superior toxicity.

Conclusion

RT did not impact survival or progression in our limited sample, but a longer OS may occur after the first-year post RT. RT should be tested in prospective data in the HIV+ population with DLBCL.