Demographics and outcome of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients in Hiwa Hospital - Iraq-Kurdistan-Sulaimani

Abstract

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous form of hematological malignancy which comprises about 30% of lymphomas with variable outcome. Onset is usually in the sixth decade of life with male predominance. Morphological, clinical, and biological variation of DLBCL confirms the coexistence of several subtypes of the disease with distinct behavior of each type. Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the demographics and outcome of patients with DLBCL and compare these parameters with regional and international data. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 61 patients with confirmed diagnosis of DLBCL. The diagnosis was based on histopathological and immunohistochemistry which was done in the Department of Pathology, Shorsh General Hospital in Sulaimani. The cases were randomly selected according to the availability of data since March 2013–March 2017. Results: Median age at diagnosis was about 51 years with peak age of incidence between 50 and 64 years, with female predominance. The most common site of the primary tumor was nodal in which cervical lymph node is the most common site, and majority of the patients were in Stage III with predominance of B-symptoms. Vast majority of the patients have normal chest X-ray, and majority of the patients were in remission over a period of 19 months of follow-up. Conclusion: We found that there is a significant relationship between age, stage, and performance of the patients, while no significant relation between other parameters and the outcome of the patients is near to their Peers internationally.