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The Population-Based Study Published in the American Journal of Hematology Suggests That Systematic, Scheduled Follow-ups for Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCl) Play a Limited Role In Early Relapse Detection, Emphasizing A Need for Alternative Surveillance Strategies to Improve Outcomes. Therese Lassen, MDand Colleagues Examined Strategies to Detect Relapse In Patients with DLBCL Who Achieveed Complete Remission (CR) After First-Line Therapy. They use data from the Danish Lymphoma Registry to Identify 1.634 Patients Diagnosed Between 2010 and 2017, Including 105 Who Experienced Relapse. OVER A MEDIAN FOLLOW-UP OF 6 YEARS (RANGE, 3-8), 83% OF RELASSE WERE SYMPTOMATIC, MOST COMMONLY PRESENTING WITH B SYMPTOMS AND PERIPHERAL LYMPHENOPATHY. ASYMPTOMATIC Relapses Were Detected Through Physical Examination (1%), Blood Tests (3%), or Imaging (13%). The Researchers Found That 70% of Relapses Were Identified Outside Routine Visits, with Only 5% of Scheduleed Visits Leading to a Relationis Diagnosis. By Contrast, 74% of Uschedled, Patient-Inited Visits Resulted in Relation Detection.
