ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are the most common tumors of the anterior mediastinum. Patients with advanced/metastatic disease are usually treated with palliative chemotherapy (CT). Unfortunately, even though various palliative CT regimens have been used for long time, there is a real scarcity of published Indian data regarding the experience of palliative CT in metastatic TET (mTET). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of mTET patients treated between January 2010 and September 2017. Patients who received at least three cycles of first-line palliative CT were included for analysis of response rates, toxicity, and survival and prognostic factors. RESULTS: Of the 49 mTET patients, 27 (55.1%) were males. The median age at diagnosis was 52 years (range: 25–65). Eighteen patients (36.7%) had Masaoka Stage IVa disease, and the rest of the patients had IVb disease. The most common site of metastasis was pleuropericardium (n = 18), followed by lungs (n = 16) and lymph nodes (n = 9). The median progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) were 11.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.7–13.6) and 20.2 months (95% CI, 17.1–22.8), respectively, for the whole cohort (n = 49). The median OS of patients with Stage IVa disease was significantly better than that of the patients with Stage IVb disease (log-rank P = 0.000). Moreover, the “responders” to first-line CT had a significantly better median OS than the “nonresponders” (log-rank P = 0.000). Various first-line palliative CT regimens were well tolerated in our patients. CONCLUSION: Adriamycin Cisplatin Vincristine Cyclophosphamide (ADOC), Cyclophosphamide Adriamycin Cisplatin, and paclitaxel + carboplatin all are viable first-line palliative CT options for mTET and showed a comparable survival in Indian patients. The present study suggested that “responders” to first-line CT and those with Stage IVa disease might have a better survival than “nonresponders” and those with Stage IVb disease, respectively
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive lymphoma whose outcomes have significantly improved with rituximab in addition to anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Objective: This study aimed to study the epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes of patients with DLBCL. Materials and Methods: A total of 526 patients diagnosed with DLBCL between 2006 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The median age was 50 years with a male preponderance. Two hundred and twenty-three (42.39%) patients presented with B symptoms. A total of 53 (10.07%) patients presented with bulky disease and 202 (31.40%) with extranodal disease. The most common extranodal sites involved were the stomach (20.79%) and the bone marrow (10.89%). Bone marrow involvement was seen in only 22 (4.18%) cases. The distribution of patients presenting in low, low-intermediate, high-intermediate, and high-risk International Prognostic Index (IPI) were 148 (28.13%), 191 (36.31%), 124 (23.57%), and 63 (11.97%), respectively. The median survival of the entire cohort was 22 months. Survival of patients that compared the two groups with respect to the IPI – one having clubbed patients in low and low/intermediate risk and the other clubbing high/intermediate and high risk showed significantly improved survival in the lower risk groups – 24 versus 18 months (P = 0). The survival of those who received chemoimmunotherapy i.e R – CHOP was significantly better than those who received chemotherapy (CHOP) alone – 33 versus 21 months (P = 2.22e–16). Conclusions: DLBCL is one of the most common lymphomas seen in our daily practice. Outcomes are significantly inferior compared to western countries. Biological and patient-related factors such as nongerminal center B subtype, higher extranodal involvement, and poor tolerability to treatment could contribute to inferior outcomes.