title: Serum soluble Fas level determines clinical outcome of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with CHOP and R-CHOP.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We previously reported that serum concentrations of soluble Fas (sFas) predict the clinical outcome of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after treatment with CHOP but without rituximab (R). Here, we investigated whether the role of sFas as a prognostic factor remains valid in the R-CHOP era.
  
  
  METHODS
  We treated 132 patients with DLBCL between October 1995 and September 2002 (group A: without rituximab), and 75 between December 2002 and March 2007 (group B: with rituximab). The patients received eight cycles of CHOP or THP (tetrahydropyranyl-adriamycin)-COP before September 2002, and R-CHOP or R-THP-COP after October 2002. The distribution of patients according to the International Prognostic Index did not significantly differ between the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for patients with sFas levels of > or = 3.0 and <3.0 ng/ml in group A were 19.8 and 61.9% (P < 0.0001), whereas the 3-year OS rates in group B were 54.7 and 92.2% (P < 0.01), respectively. Multivariate analysis using the proportional hazards model revealed that sFas most significantly correlated with overall survival (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum sFas is thus a useful tool for selecting the appropriate therapeutic strategy for DLBCL.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsurumi
authors.forename: Naoe
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanemura
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Senji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasahara
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuno
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsumura
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takemura
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takami
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moriwaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000069283:Rituximab; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014750:Vincristine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; C491901:FAS protein, human; D019014:fas Receptor; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone