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The relationship between histopathologic characteristics and treatment outcomes in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with rituximab-based immunochemotherapy needs re-evaluation. Patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) were evaluated with respect to clinical characteristics, treatment efficacy, and survival. Immunohistochemistry of bcl-2, CD10, bcl-6, and MUM-1 was performed and patients were sub-classified as germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) or non-GCB type according to the Hans algorithm. There was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) between patients with GCB and those with non-GCB. Although there was no significant difference in OS between high-intermediate and high risk groups as classified by the standard International Prognostic Index (IPI; p = 0.50), all three groups with the revised IPI had a clear-cut separation for event-free survival and OS. The revised IPI better predicted survival than did the standard IPI in patients with DLBCL treated with R-CHOP. The Hans classification had no prognostic value.

The MIF biopsy was simple to perform, safe, and required a shorter procedure time, with a high diagnostic yield for small SETs.

The timing for dialysis initiationis still debated. The aim of this study was to compare mortality rates, using a propensity-score approach, in dialysis patients with early or late starts. From January 2000 to June 2009, incident adult patients (n = 836) starting dialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were enrolled. The patients were assigned to either an early- or late-start group depending on the initiation time of the dialysis. After propensity-score-basedmatching, 450 patients remained. At the initiation of dialysis, the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 11.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the early-start group compared with 6.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the late-start group. There were no significant differences in survival between the patients in the early- and late-start groups (Log rank tests P = 0.172). A higher overall mortality risk was observed in the early-start group than in the late-start group for the patients aged ≥ 70 yr (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.29; P = 0.048) and/or who had albumin levels ≥ 3.5 g/dL (HR: 2.53; P = 0.046). The survival of the ESRD patients was comparable between the patients in the early and late-start groups. The time to initiate dialysis should be determined based on clinical findings as well as the eGFR.

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