Identification, risk factors, and clinical course of CNS relapse in DLBCL patients across 19 prospective phase 2 and 3 trials-a LYSA and GLA/ DSHNHL collaboration.

Progression or relapse in the central nervous system (CNS) remains a rare but mostly fatal event for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In a retrospective analysis of 5189 patients treated within 19 prospective German and French phase 2/3 trials, we identified 159 patients experiencing a CNS event (relapse: 62%, progression: 38%). Intracerebral, meningeal, intraspinal, or combined involvement was reported in 44%, 31%, 3%, and 22% of patients, respectively. 62 of 155 evaluable patients (40%) showed concurrent systemic progression/ relapse. 82% of all CNS events occurred within two years after study inclusion or randomization. 87% of patients showed extranodal involvement outside the CNS. Patients generally had poor outcomes with a median overall survival (OS) of 3.4 months (95% CI 2.9-4.2) and a 2-year OS of 15% (10-22%). Outcomes did not differ depending on the site or time point of CNS events. Patients with isolated CNS events demonstrated significantly better OS (p = 0.023). Twenty-five patients were consolidated with autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation and achieved a 3-year OS of 36% (20-66%). This large study including more than 5000 DLBCL patients highlights the unmet medical need to improve the outcome of DLBCL patients suffering from CNS relapse.

Case presentation and management of Lyme disease patients: a 9-year retrospective analysis in France.

Introduction: Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common vector disease in temperate countries of the northern hemisphere. It is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. Methods: To study the case presentation of LB in France, we contacted about 700 physicians every year between 2003 and 2011. An anonymous questionnaire was established allowing the collection of 3,509 cases. The information collected was imported or directly entered into databases and allowed identifying variables that were validated in a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Results: Sixty percent of the cases were confirmed, 10% were probable, 13.5% doubtful, 10.2% asymptomatic seropositive and 6.3% were negative. The clinical manifestations reported were cutaneous (63%), neurological (26%), articular (7%), ocular (1.9%) and cardiac (1.3%). Almost all patients were treated. When focusing more particularly on confirmed cases, our studies confirm that children have a distinct clinical presentation from adults. There is a gender effect on clinical presentation, with females presenting more often with erythema migrans or acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans than males, while males present more often with neurological signs or arthritis than females. Discussion: This is the first time that a comprehensive study of suspected Lyme borreliosis cases has been conducted over several years in France. Although we were not able to follow the clinical course of patients after treatment, these results suggest the interest of refining the questionnaire and of following up a cohort of patients over a sufficiently long period to obtain more information on their fate according to different parameters.