Diffuse Cell Lymphoma Research Articles

Associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (bia-alcl) with silicone breast implants

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the breast is extremely rare. Most of these lymphomas are type B, including large B cell diffuse lymphoma, extra-nodal marginal lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, primary effusion lymphoma and lympho-plasma-cytic lymphoma. BIA-ALCL is negative anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and is characterized by cells with horseshoe-shaped eccentric nuclei called “hallmark cells”. Unlike other types of ALCL, BIA-ALCL rarely invades your breast in depth. By contrast, non-Hodgkin’s T-cell lymphoma (NHL) found in breasts without implants is mostly B cell lymphoma. Due to the increasing number of cases and the fact that the first case also appeared in Romania, we consider it advisable to take information and prevention measures as well as to adopt a treatment protocol in our country. The present paper aims at adopting a unitary diagnosis and treatment protocol for all plastic surgeons. We also consider it advisable to inform patients before surgery on risk. Through this paper we want to propose a national protocol to follow and also to argue its choice.

Primary Ovarian Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with Late Diagnosis Due to Unusual Presentation - A Case Report

Involvement of NHL in ovary is seen in disseminated Lymphoma but primary ovarian lymphoma still not commonly seen. We presented the case where the patient had suffered for unexplained fever for more than 1 year and lately presented with gross weight loss as well as painless lower abdominal lump. CT scan showed a huge heterogeneous mass of about 15x12.4cm in pelvic cavity with mild ascites. Surgery was performed in view of ovarian neoplasm as CA125 was also raised. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma with Immunohistochemistry confirmation. Treated with R-CHOP protocol for 6 cycles as IHC expressed CD20 positive. Post chemotherapy follow up PET scan showed complete response of treatment, though in spite of all treatment Primary ovarian lymphoma have a poor outcome with a range from 0% to 36% expected to survive for less than three years.

Expression and Clinical Significance of MicroRNA-195 in Patients with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

To investigate the expression and clinical significance of microRNA-195 in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma(DLBCL). Sixty patients with DLBCL were selected from nearly four years in our hospital, and at the same time 30 healthy people with physical examination of the same period and with the same age in our hospital were choosed as control group. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the miR-195 expression of the patients and controls, the relationship between miR-195 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of DLBCL and survival time of patients was analyzed. The expression level of miR-195 in DLBCL patients was significantly lower than that in the controls (P<0.001). The expression level of miR-195 closely related with tumor diameter, IPI score and Ann Arbor stage of patients with DLBCL. Overall survival(OS) time of DLBCL patients with highly expressed miR-195 was significantly longer than that of patients with low expression (P<0.001). miR-195 expression decrease in DLBCL patients, and miR-195 closely relates with tumor characteristics of patients with DLBCL. DLBCL patients with higher expression of miR-195 show longer overall survival time.

Progress in targeted therapy for high-risk diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of adult lymphoma and is a group of invasive and heterogeneous diseases. Although rituximab in combination with CHOP regimen (R-CHOP) for DLBCL is better, one third of patients have relapsed/refractory conditions. DLBCL is divided into many subtypes due to its high heterogeneity. Different histological types have different response to treatment. High-risk DLBCL has little effect on R-CHOP treatment. How to further improve the first-line cure rate of high-risk DLBCL has become an important challenge in the field of lymphoma treatment. Currently in the era of precision medicine, in recent years, many new targeted drugs, such as immunosuppressive agents, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) receptor inhibitors and Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, have been developed for DLBCL-related pathways and molecular targets, provide more new possibilities for the treatment of DLBCL. Key words: Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; Targeted therapy; Review

MicroRNAs and diffuse large B cell lymphoma

The molecular mechanism of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been fully elucidated, and epigenetics plays an important role in its development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important parts of epigenetics, which are involved in the occurrence and development of DLBCL. Relevant studies have found that miRNAs can not only be used as molecular diagnostic markers of DLBCL, but also be used to judge the prognosis and treatment effect of DLBCL. Key words: Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; MicroRNAs; B-lymphocytes; Diagnosis; Prognosis

A case of diffuse large B cell lymphoma with auto-antibodies and hemophagocytic syndrome

A case of diffuse large B cell lymphoma with auto-antibodies and hemophagocytic syndrome

Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT and C-MYC gene rearrangement on chemotherapy in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of the maximum standardized uptake value decrease proportion (ΔSUVmax%) on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging and C-MYC gene in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to find the optimal time of PET/CT imaging. Methods From September 2010 to February 2016, 171 patients (87 males, 84 females, average age: (50.66±2.56) years) with pathologically confirmed DLBCL were analyzed. 18F-FDG PET/CT were performed before and after different courses of chemotherapy (60 patients in early phase which means 1 and 2 courses; 55 patients in medium phase, 3 and 4 courses; 56 patients in late phase, 5 and 6 courses). The region of interest (ROI) was drawn and the ΔSUVmax% was calculated. Patients were evaluated with Deauville 5-point scale. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was employed to detect C-MYC gene. Patients were followed up for 6-71 months, and progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated. χ2 test, one-way analysis of variance, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results There were 42 C-MYC gene rearrangement of 171 DLBCL patients. Age, Ann Arbor stage, international prognostic index (IPI) score, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level and therapeutic response were different between patients with C-MYC gene rearrangement and those without rearrangement (χ2: 6.139-98.339, all P 0.05). Conclusion ΔSUVmax% in the different phases of chemotherapy and C-MYC gene rearrangement have better values for predicting the prognosis of DLBCL, and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging should be performed between 1 course and 4 courses of chemotherapy. Key words: Lymphoma, large B cell, diffuse; Prognosis; Gene rearrangement; Genes, myc; Positron-emission tomography; Tomography, X-ray computed; Deoxyglucose

Screening of differential microRNA and prediction of target genes between human immunodeficiency virus-Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Objective To screen the differential microRNA (miRNA) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods Five freshly frozen tissue samples of BL and 3 freshly frozen tissu samples of DLBCL, 19 paraffin specimens of BL and 15 paraffin specimens of DLBCL were collected from Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. Agilent human miRNA microarrays were employed to detect the miRNA expressions in fresh frozen BL tissues and fresh frozen DLBCL tissues, and to find out differential miRNA. SmartRNAplex™ miRNA was employed to verify the expressions of crucial miRNA in BL formalin fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues and DLBCL FFPET. Bioinformatics methods were used to predict the target genes of the crucial miRNA. Results Compared with DLBCL group, 42 differential miRNA were detected in BL group. Among them, 28 miRNA were up-regulated and 14 miRNA were down-regulated in BL group. According to positive control in eukaryote and high-expression molecular contributing to the emergence of tumor, 5 crucial miRNA were selected from 28 up-regulated miRNA in BL group for validation. The result was consistent with that of Agilent human miRNA microarrays. Compared with the DLBCL group, 5 crucial miRNA were all up-regulated in BL, which were miRNA-16-2-3p, miRNA-20a-3p, miRNA-130b-3p, miRNA-185-5p and miRNA-423-5p (t=2.7151, 2.539, 2.750, 4.004, and 3.625, respectively, all P<0.05). The corresponding target genes of miRNA-16-2-3p might be CTNND2 and RAD21.The target genes of miRNA-20a-3p might mainly be DYRK1A and GPAM. The target genes of miRNA-130b-3p might mainly be IRF1, DICER1 and PTEN. The target genes of miRNA-185-5p might mainly be VEGFA, NFATC3 and SEC24C.The target genes of miRNA-423-5p might mainly be PA2G4 and PNKD. Conclusions There are significantly differentially expressed miRNA between BL and DLBCL tissues. These miRNA are expected to provide new molecular markers for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of BL and DLBCL. Potential target genes of crucial miRNA are related with cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis, etc, which may play important roles in the origination and progress of BL. Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus; Burkitt lymphoma; Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; MicroRNA; Clinical pathology

Clinical significance of Bcl-6 expression in young DLBCL patients with Myc+ or Bcl-2+Myc+

Objective: To investigate the expression of Bcl-6 in newly diagnosed and young patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to further explore its clinical significance in young DLBCL patients with Myc positive expression (Myc+) or Bcl-2 and Myc positive expressions (Bcl-2+Myc+). Methods: Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to detect the expressions of Bcl-6, Myc and Bcl-2 in 116 newly diagnosed and young patients with DLBCL, and the complete clinical and pathological data were collected. The relationship between the expression levels of Bcl-6 protein and the prognosis of young DLBCL patients with Myc+ and Bcl-2+Myc+ was retrospectively analyzed. Results: There was no significantly correlation between the expression of Bcl-6 alone and the prognosis of young DLBCL patients (P > 0.05). However, for the DLBCL patients with Myc+, the prognosis in Bcl-6 negative (Bcl-6－) group was worse than that in Bcl-6 positive (Bcl-6+) group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the multivariate COX regression analysis showed that Bcl-6－Myc+ expression was a significant independent factor of adverse prognosis except for the international prognostic index (IPI) (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the prognosis of DLBLC patients with Bcl-6－Bcl-2+Myc+ was significantly worse than that of the patients with Bcl-6+Bcl-2+Myc+ (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Bcl-6 negative expression can increase the risk of poor prognosis in young DLBCL patients with Myc+ or Bcl-2+Myc+. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2018.33.169

Study on the application of comprehensive geriatric assessment in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

The incidence of elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma(DLBCL)are increasing year by year.Elderly patients have great heterogeneity.How to properly stratify these patients and give them the most suitable treatment is the challenge we are facing.Comprehensive geriatric assessment(CGA)conduct a comprehensive assessment of the patients from the perspective of gerontology, which is helpful to judge the prognosis, to evaluate the tolerance of treatment, to further guide the treatment, and to accurate treatment of elderly DLBCL.This article reviews the research on the application of CGA in DLBCL at home and abroad, so as to provide evidence for developing the appropriate comprehensive evaluation system for the elderly patients with DLBCL. Key words: Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Lymphoma, B cell

A unique case of central hypopituitarism and central diabetes insipidus caused by diffuse large B cell lymphoma

A unique case of central hypopituitarism and central diabetes insipidus caused by diffuse large B cell lymphoma

18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in intra-spinal canal primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a case report

18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in intra-spinal canal primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a case report

Immunohistochemical Expression of CD10, BCL6 and MUM1 in Differentiating Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Subtypes.

To determine the immunohistochemical expression of CD10, BCL6 and MUM1 in differentiating diffuse large B cell lymphoma subtypes. Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Department of Histopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from November 2014 to May 2015. Newly diagnosed cases of DLBCLon H&E stain as well as IHC markers, according to WHO blue book 2008, were included in the study. Patients' gender, age and site of lymphoma were noted. DLBCLsubtypes (GCB and activated type or non-GCB) were assessed based on IHC expression of CD10, BCL6 and MUM1 and the results were recorded. The data were analyzed by using computer software program SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Out of 96 patients, 79 (82%) were male and 17 (18%) were female. Mean age was 54.66 ±16.73 years. Thirty-six (37.5%) cases showed positivity for CD10 and BCL6 both (GCB type), whereas MUM1 was positive in 60 (62.5%) cases (non-GCB type or activated type). Asignificant statistical association was seen between expression of IHC markers (CD10, BCL6 and MUM1) and DLBCLsubtypes (GCB and non-GCB type, p<0.001). In Pakistani population, the frequency of non-GCB type expressing MUM1 is 62.5%, which is quite high as compared to western countries. It needs to be further explored, because it represents high-risk subsets in which alternative strategies for diagnosis and management should be planned.

Primary breast lymphoma: a prognostic analysis and literature review

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and evaluate the feasible treatments of primary breast lymphoma (PBL). Methods The clinical data of 34 PBL patients (age 24-79 years) who were treated in our hospital between April 2006 and December 2013 were reviewed. Of these 34 patients, 18 had stage ⅠE PBL and 16 had stage ⅡE PBL. Pathological types included diffuse large B cell lymphoma (29 patients), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (2 patients), marginal zone lymphoma (2 patients), and mantle cell lymphoma (1 patient). Two patients underwent surgery, four patients received chemotherapy alone, five patients received chemoradiotherapy, fourteen patients underwent surgery plus chemotherapy, and nine patients underwent surgery plus chemoradiotherapy. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were determined by the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Results During follow-up, 26 patients were alive without lymphoma and 8 patients had died by the end of follow-up (7 died from lymphoma and 1 died from chemotherapy-related hepatic failure). Among the 6 patients who relapsed, 5(83.3%) had recurrence within the first 2 years of treatment. In particular, 1 patient who had bilateral breast involvement developed left breast relapse after bilateral mastectomy and chemotherapy, 2 patients had bone marrow metastasis, 1 patient had lung and mediastinal lymph node metastases, and 2 had skin relapse. The 5-year OS and PFS rates of all patients were 75% and 75%, respectively. Conclusions Since PBL is a rare malignancy, its overall prognosis is fair and the incidence of local relapse is low with chemotherapy alone or in combination with other treatments. However, further studies on the development of more effective treatments will be required for patients who have failed the existing treatments. Key words: Primary breast lymphoma/combined treatment; Diffuse large B cell lymphoma/combined treatment; Prognosis

Diagnosis and Clinical Analysis of Primary Thyroid Lymphoma.

Objective To summarize our experiences in the diagnosis and prognosis of different subtypes of primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL). Methods The clinical data of 27 PTL patients who were treated in our hospital from January 1998 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The pathological types of these patients included B cell lymphoma unclassifiable (BCLU) (n=5),mucosa-associated lymphiod tissue lymphoma (MALT) (n=9),diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (n=12),and T cell lymphoma (n=1). Results Of all these 27 cases,the most common clinical symptom was painless swelling of the neck (n=21,77.8%). Of 7 patients who had received preoperative fine needle biopsy,lymphoma was suspected in 2 cases (28.6%). Among these 7 cases,the positive rate of suspicious lymphoma was 66.7% in 3 DLBCL patients,0 in 3 MALT patients,and 0 in 1 BCLU paitent. Also,25 patients underwent intraoperative frozen pathological examination,which revealed lymphoma or suspicious lymphoma in 16 cases (64.0%); in these patients,the positive rate was 66.7% for BCLU,77.8% for MALT,58.3% for DLBCL,and 0 for T-cell lymphomas. The overall survival was (89.3±12.4) months,and the overall 5-year survival rate was 61.6%. The estimated survival in symptomatic group was 31.6 months,which was significantly shorter than that in asymptomatic group (97.9 months) (P=0.032). Other factors including age,sex,tumor size,tumor stage,international prognostic index,tracheal compression,lactate dehydrogenase,residual tumor,and pathological type showed no significant effect on survival(all P>0.05). Conclusions DLBCL has the highest fine needle biopsy positive rate,MALT has the highest frozen pathological positive rate,and intraoperative frozen pathology has more malignant results than the preoperative fine needle biopsy in the diagnosis. The accompanying lymphoma symptoms may be an adverse prognostic factor.

Value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in evaluation of curative effect and progression-free survival on lymphoma

Objective To evaluate the value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in evaluation of curative effect and progression-free survival (PFS) for lymphoma patients. Methods The data of 85 lymphoma patients were retrospectively analyzed. Before and after 4-8 cycles standardized chemotherapy, the patients were evaluated with 18F-FDG PET/CT. The two-year PFS rate was compared. The value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in evaluation of curative effect and PFS for lymphoma patients received chemoradiotherapy was analyzed. Results The non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was the common type, and the common pathogenic sites were head and neck lymph nodes, mediastinum and retroperitoneum. The majority of patients were accompanied with spleen enlargement and local lesions with high metabolism. The complete remission (CR) rate of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients in PET/CT negative group was significantly higher than that in positive group (86.4% vs. 42.9%, P=0.038). The two-year PFS rates in PET/CT positive group and negative group were 42.9% and 81.8%, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=7.70, P=0.006). Thirty-five NHL patients achieved CR, 13 achieved partial remission (PR), and 8 achieved stable disease (SD) or disease progression (PD). The two-year PFS rates in the CR group, PR group, SD or PD group were 89.7%, 65.3% and 19.4% respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=12.41, P=0.002). PET/CT imaging had a strong PFS predictive effect on T cell lymphoma (TCL) patients (χ2=13.85, P=0.001) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients (χ2=13.51, P=0.001), and had no predictive effect on follicular lymphoma (FL) patients (χ2=4.63, P=0.099). Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT can evaluate the curative effect of lymphoma effectively and early predict prognosis, and has great guiding significance in choosing therapeutic schedule. Key words: Lymphoma; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Positron-emission tomography; Tomography, X-ray computed; Prognosis; Efficacy evaluation

Bilateral hydrocele. Uncommon clinical presentation of primary testicular lymphoma in the elderly.

Primary testicular lymphoma (PLT) represents 5% of testis tumors, the incidence increases in patients older than 60 years of age. Bilateral hydrocele is an unusual clinical presentation. Relapse in the central nervous system and in the contralateral testis is often observed. The US shows hypoechoic nodular lesions with a complete structural involvement of didymus and hypervascularization at Color Doppler. Orchiectomy should be performed in all cases as it is indispensable for the histopathological diagnosis and to characterize the immunophenotypic features. The most common histotype is diffuse large-B cell lymphoma. Combined biological approach and chemotherapy with rituximab and doxorubicin has radically changed the prognosis of disease. The authors report two patients of 81 and 82 years-old who referred for evaluation of massive bilateral hydrocele causing severe limitation of deambulation. Negative cytological findings for neoplastic cells in the scrotal effusion made difficult the differential diagnosis between inflammatory and malignant disease. Histopathologic findings made a diagnosis of high grade diffuse large B-cell NHL, respectively stage IV-E and stage III-E. The 82 years old patient was treated with 6 chemotherapy cycles of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone. The exitus was dued to the umbilical hernia complications. In the 81 years old patient, cognitive deficit and severe impairment of general conditions constituted an absolute contraindication to polychemotherapy treatment. Rapid tumor progression led the patient to exitus 2 months after diagnosis. In both patients the delayed diagnosis of PLT was probably due to the reduction of welfare protection in the elderly with adverse social conditions.

Role of radiotherapy in patients with stage I-II diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of waldeyer’s ring in remission after chemotherapy

Objective To investigate the impacts of adjuvant radiotherapy on the prognosis of patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ diffuse large B cell lymphoma of Waldeyer’s ring (WR-DLBCL) who achieved complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy. Methods Clinical data were collected from 130 patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ WR-DLBCL who were admitted to our hospital from 2005 and 2013. All the patients achieved CR after at least two cycles of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin/epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP)-based chemotherapy or rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP)-based chemotherapy. In the 130 patients, 43 received R-CHOP (including 25 patients undergoing radiotherapy) and 87 CHOP (including 76 patients undergoing radiotherapy); 29 received chemotherapy alone and 101 chemoradiotherapy. The survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed by the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate prognostic analyses were made by the log-rank test and the Cox model, respectively. Results In all patients, the 5-year sample size was 101. The univariate analysis showed that patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0 had significantly higher 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates than those with an ECOG score of 1(95.6% vs. 80.1%, P=0.000; 95.7% vs. 75.4%, P=0.029). Patients treated with chemotherapy alone had significantly lower 5-year OS and DFS rates than those treated with chemoradiotherapy (77.1% vs. 91.7%, P=0.048; 77% vs. 87.4%, P=0.037). The multivariate analysis by the Cox model showed that ECOG score was a prognostic factor for both OS and DFS (P=0.047, 0.003). Adjuvant radiotherapy was related to improved DFS rather than OS (P=0.039, 0.133). Conclusions Stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ WR-DLBCL patients with low ECOG scores have better prognosis than those with high ECOG scores. Patients with CR after chemotherapy may benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy. The conclusions need to be further confirmed by prospective randomized controlled trials. Key words: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma/chemotherapy; Diffuse large B cell lymphoma/radiotherapy; Prognosis

Decision Support System for Lymphoma Classification.

The diffuse lymphoma is a malignant tumor of lymphoid tissues. It is associated with abnormal, unlimited and uncontrolled proliferation of lymphoid cells. Until now, expert pathologists have identified diffuse lymphoma cells disease manually. This paper introduces automatic system with a friendly user interface to differentiate between the categories of the diffuse lymphoma cells. This research is based on the morphological features such as size, perimeter and circularity. The cell size is a critical element in the classification of diffuse lymphoma according to international formulation standards. Therefore, the applied procedures identify lymphoid cell population in digital microscopic images.The cells are classified using their morphological data according to the characteristics of each cell such as: circularity, perimeter, area, and color density. The number of cells is taken into consideration in the developed approach. Image processing techniques are applied to digital microscopic images to measure morphological parameters and to overcome image problems such as overlapping and cell distortion that affect the sensitivity of the measured data. The developed procedures help the pathologists to come to a decision regarding the classification of diffuse lymphoma. Moreover, it can be used to train medical students and young pathologists.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome related lymphoma

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics, pathological features and prognostic factors of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) related lymphoma (ARL). Methods The clinical characteristics, treatment regimen and survival status were retrospectively analyzed. At a ratio of 1∶2, 106 general non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases were included after matching for demography and clinical characteristics with 53 ARL patients. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Cox regression was used for multivariant analysis. Results The predominant pathologic type of ARL was diffuse large B cell lymphoma (60.4%, 32/53). B cell lymphoma accounted for 88.7% (47/53) and T cell lymphoma accounted for 11.3% (6/53). Patients in ARL group (62.3%, 33/53) had lower proportion of receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy compared with patients in general NHL group (94.3%, 100/106) (χ2=26.58, P<0.05). ARL group had lower hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity rate compared with general NHL group (1.9% vs 26.4%, χ2=14.26, P<0.05). No other characteristic was found significantly different between these two groups. The survival time of ARL and general NHL patients was (6.0±1.3) months and (48.0±10.0) months, respectively (t=8.13, P<0.01). The 1- year, 2-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates of ARL patients were 39.6%, 32.7%, 27.7% and 20.1%, respectively, while those of general NHL patients were 79.2%, 56.8%, 42.4% and 25.0%, respectively. Of the 33 ARL patients and 100 general NHL patients who received anti-NHL treatment, the 1-year survival rates were 60.6% and 83.0%, respectively (χ2=4.040, P=0.043), the 2-year survival rates were 53.5% and 60.5%, respectively (χ2=0.003, P=0.096), the 3-year survival rates were 48.1% and 45.9%, respectively (χ2=0.288, P=0.59), the 5-year survival rates were 39.1% and 27.5%, respectively (χ2=0.798, P=0.372). Multivariate analysis revealed that anti-NHL therapy and international prognostic index score were independent predictors for prognosis (both P<0.05). Conclusions Diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the predominant pathologic type of ARL. ARL patients has significantly lower survival rate compared with general NHL patients. Combination of anti-HIV therapy and anti-lymphoma therapy in individuals with ARL can prolong their survival time. Key words: Lymphoma, non-Hodgkin; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Survival analysis