Abstract

Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive lymphoma, results from the uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal B lymphocytes. In Algeria it represents 50 to 60% of all lymphomas. Great progress has been made in Algeria during these last years in terms of diagnosis and management of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and more specifically for DLBCL.

Aim: To study the epidemiological, anatomopathological, immunohistochemical, clinical, therapeutic and evolving characteristics of DLBCL in adults recruited from hematology department at the University Hospital Center (HUC) of Batna (Algeria). Methods: This is a descriptive retrospective study on the records of 33 patients aged over 27 years with DLBCL, treated in the same department. The analysis revealed an average age of 54 years, men are more frequently affected than women (22 men∕11 women), the sex-ratio is 2. A high prevalence of the disease was registered in Batna 45(45%) compared to other regions.

Results: The clinical and anatomopathological profile reveals that 54.54% of our patients had no specific antecedents and 45.45% of the patients were hypertensive, hepatic localizations are found in 24.24% of cases, a predominance of disseminated stages 63(63%) compared to localized stages 36(36%) was also recorded. The immunohistochemical analysis shows that the markers (CD20; CD45; CD3) are mainly expressed (90.90%, 39.39%, 21.21% respectively) in our patients. The therapeutic and evolutionary aspect affirms that the R-CHOP protocol (Rituximab+Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisone) is the most adopted in our patients 54(54%), the evolution in our series was marked by a death rate of 33.33% of cases and complete remission was objectified in 21.21% of patients. Conclusion: This study allowed us to establish an epidemiological profile of DLBCL and to study its characteristics within our region ‘Batna’. The identification of characteristics with prognostic value could allow a better therapeutic adaptation for our patients. Keywords: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), retrospective epidemiological study, University Hospital Center (HUC) of Batna.