Why carry out this study?

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and accounts for approximately one third of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases.

Approximately 30–40% of patients with DLBCL are either refractory to initial treatment or relapse, and prognosis after treatment failure is usually poor.

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, incidence, and treatment patterns (treatment regimens, switches, duration) for DLBCL in a real-world setting.

What was learned from the study?

Of the 2633 incident cases of DLBCL identified, 2119 patients received at least one DLBCL-related line of treatment (LOT1), and 25% of patients died within 6 months of treatment initiation.

The treatment landscape is very heterogeneous, particularly in second- or later-line treatments, with few patients receiving potentially curative treatment beyond the first line.