Complete remission rate in advanced-stage diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma following treatment with R-CHOP.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the complete remission (CR) rate in patients with advanced-stage DLBCL following treatment with R-CHOP. Study Design: Descriptive Cases-series study. Setting: The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL) in Lahore. Period: 16^th May 2025 to 16^th October 2025. Methods: Conducted on 60 patients diagnosed with stage III or IV DLBCL and treated with six cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy at a tertiary care oncology unit were included in this observational study. Demographic baseline data, clinical record, and laboratory data were taken, such as age, gender, performance status, and stage of disease. The clinical evaluation and imaging assessment were used to evaluate response to treatment based on standard response criteria after therapy. Results: The average age of the patients was 44.17±12.85 years, and the patients were mostly men (61.7%). Over fifty percent of the patients (55) had stage III disease and forty five percent had stage IV disease. After six cycles of R-CHOP, the complete remission rate was 68.3 and partial remission of 21.7 and disease progression of 10 percent were seen. The CR rate in this study is also in line with other reports found in the literature that range between 65 and 75% of advanced-stage DLBCL. Conclusion: R-CHOP chemotherapy is a viable first-line therapy in achieving a high percentage of complete remissions in the advanced stage of DLBCL. However, a subset of patients unable to gain complete remission, which underlines the necessity to detect high-risk cases early and possibly to include new targeted or improved treatment methods.