Evaluation of routine CT scans in the follow-up of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to retrospectively assess the role of routine CT scans within the first year of follow-up with a limited surveillance policy prior to Lugano recommendations in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) achieving complete metabolic remission (CMR). We also evaluated the type of relapse detection and exposure to CT scans within the first five years. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with DLBCL who achieved CMR after first-line immunochemotherapy were included. Imaging studies and medical records were thoroughly reviewed. RESULTS: Among 101 DLBCL patients in the first CMR, a total of 19 relapses were identified in the study period (18.8% of DLBCL patients included). Nine patients relapsed within the first year (47.4% of all relapses) but only 3 of them were detected by the 202 surveillance CT scans performed during this first year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our real-world data provide clinically applicable results which are in agreement with the Lugano recommendations based on trial data, highlighting the lack of utility of routine CTs in DLBCL patients achieving CMR.

Case Report: High Doses of Intravenous Immunoglobulins as a Successful Treatment for Late Onset Immune Agranulocytosis After Rituximab Plus Bendamustine.

Late onset neutropenia (LON) related to rituximab or rituximab plus chemotherapy is defined as an unexplained absolute neutrophil count of ≤1.5 × 109/L starting at least four weeks after the last rituximab administration. LON is infrequent and its pathophysiology remains unknown. There are no guidelines or consensus strategies for the optimal management of patients developing LON. The majority of the patients recover promptly with no specific treatment and only some cases need to be managed with granulocytic colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), usually with a rapid response. Here, we describe a 69-year-old patient with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia who presented a septic event in the context of severe LON after rituximab plus bendamustine. The diagnosed of agranulocytosis was established by bone marrow examination. Interestingly, anti-neutrophil antibodies bound to the patient's granulocytes were found suggesting an autoimmune mechanism. The patient did not respond to G-CSF but achieved a rapid response after high doses of intravenous immunoglobulins with full white blood cell recovery.