Prognostic significance of immunohistochemical biomarkers in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a study from the Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium

The Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium (LLBC) evaluated the prognostic value of IHC biomarkers in a large series of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Clinical data and tumor samples were retrieved from 12 studies from Europe and North America, with patients treated before or after the rituximab era. Using tissue microarrays from 1514 patients, IHC for BCL2, BCL6, CD5, CD10, MUM1, Ki67, and HLA-DR was performed and scored according to previously validated protocols. Optimal cut points predicting overall survival of patients treated in the rituximab era could only be determined for CD5 (P = .003) and Ki67 (P = .02), whereas such cut points for BCL2, BCL6, HLA-DR, and MUM1 could only be defined in patients not receiving rituximab. A prognostic model for patients treated in the rituximab era identified 4 risk groups using BCL2, Ki67, and International Prognostic Index (IPI) with improved discrimination of low-risk patients. Newly recognized correlations between specific biomarkers and IPI highlight the importance of carefully controlling for clinical and biologic factors in prognostic models. These data demonstrate that the IPI remains the best available index in patients with DLBCL treated with rituximab and chemotherapy. (Blood. 2011;117(26):7070-7078)