PURPOSE Patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) usually relapse early following diagnosis but some relapses happen at 5 years or later. Few data exist regarding clinical characteristics and outcome of these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients from two centers in Lyon, France, between 1985 and 2003 who had a biopsy-proven relapse 5 years or later following diagnosis of DLBCL. All available biopsies were reviewed and immunohistochemistry was completed. Results Among 1,492 patients with DLBCL, 54 were eligible. At diagnosis, 63% of patients had stage I-II, 82% had low/low-intermediate International Prognostic Index (IPI) score, 65% had extranodal involvement, 24% had an indolent component associated with DLBCL, 57% had germinal center phenotype, and 43% had non-germinal center phenotype. Median time from diagnosis to relapse was 7.4 years (range, 5 to 20.5 years). At time of relapse, 83% had DLBCL histology, and 17% had indolent histology. Having an indolent component at diagnosis was associated with indolent histology at relapse (P = .028). Five-year event free-survival (EFS) was 17% for patients with DLBCL relapse and 61% for patients with indolent relapse (P = .027). Five-year overall survival was 27% for patients with DLBCL and 75% for patients with indolent relapse (P = .029). For DLBCL relapse, 3-year EFS was 56% versus 18% with autologous stem-cell transplantation or not, respectively (P = .0661). CONCLUSION Patients with DLBCL who had a late relapse usually had localized stage, favorable IPI score, and extranodal involvement at diagnosis. The outcome of patients with DLBCL at time of relapse remains poor, and aggressive treatment such as autologous stem-cell transplantation should be pursued whenever possible. Biopsy at relapse is essential because some patients relapse with indolent histology.

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The median OS is short in 90+ patients diagnosed with lymphoma but some patients experience prolonged survival. Lymphoma represents the main cause of death in these patients. Treatment may improve survival of selected patients with aggressive but not indolent NHL. Management of these patients may be guided by prognostic factors identified in this study, notably serum albumin.