title: Histological transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia.
abstract: Histological transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) rarely occurs in patients with Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM). We identified 20 patients out of a cohort of 1,466 WM patients who experienced histologic transformation. The 5, 10, and 15-year cumulative incidence rates were 1, 2.4, and 3.8%, respectively. Approximately half of the patients were naive to nucleoside analogues, and a quarter were previously untreated for WM at the time of transformation. More than 80% of patients presented with extranodal involvement, 65% with high IPI scores. DLBCL cells did not express CD10 but expressed BCL6 and BCL2. All patients were treated with chemoimmunotherapy. The median survival from histological transformation was 2.7 years. The median overall survival was shorter for transformed patients versus those who did not transform (estimated 9 vs. 16 years; P = 0.09). Histological transformation to DLBCL is rare, and is associated with inferior survival in WM. Am. J. Hematol. 91:1032-1035, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts. Jorgej_castillo@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jorge J
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9490-7532
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gustine
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meid
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts.
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dubeau
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts.
authors.forename: Zachary R
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusettts.
authors.forename: Steven P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Treon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D015994:Incidence; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D008258:Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy