OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of primary follicular lymphoma (FL) patients with grade 3 or large B cell transformation, so as to provide more reference for the subsequent clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Forty-seven primary FL patients with grade 3 or large B cell transformation from March 2010 to March 2018 were selected, the clinical characteristics and survival of patients were analyzed. Cox regression model were used to evaluate the related prognostic factors. RESULTS: The cumulative progression-free survival rate and cumulative overall survival rate of 47 patients in 3-year follow-up reached to 55.32% (26/47) and 80.85% (38/47) respectively. There were significant differences in cumulative progression-free survival rate and cumulative overall survival rate among different subgroups of IPI, FLIPI-1 and FLIPI-2 in 3-year follow-up (P<0.05). The cumulative progression-free survival rate during follow-up for 3-year in the patients with Ann Arbor staging for III-IV stage, lymph node-involved site≥5, lymph node-involved site with diameter more than 3 cm≥3 and extranodal lesions≥3 was significantly lower than other subgroups (P<0.05). The cumulative overall survival rate in 3-year follow-up of patients with LDH levels≥240 U/ml was significantly lower than patients with LDH levels < 240 U/ml (P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that Ann Arbor stage for III-IV, lymph node-involved site number≥5, >3 cm lymph node-involved site number≥3, extranodal lesion site number≥2, IPI score=2-3, FLIPI-1 score and FLIPI-2 score≥3 were the risk factors for progression-free survival (P<0.05); LDH≥240 U/ml, IPI score=2-3 and FLIPI-2 score≥3 were risk factors for overall survival (P<0.05). Cox regression model multivariate analysis showed that IPI score=2-3 was the independent risk factor for progression-free survival and overall survival (P<0.05). FLIPI-2 score≥3 was the independent risk factor for overall survival (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Primary FL patients with grade 3 or large B cell transformation by using the existing treatment regimen might be possibly curable, and the current treatment strategies and IPI score can be used to predict the clinical prognosis of patients.
B-Lymphocytes ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Follicular ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate