Efficacy of chemotherapy in extremely elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The safety and effective dose of chemotherapy in treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma in elderly patients is yet to be established. In this study, we assessed the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in elderly patients (≥75 years) treated with an optimal dose of R-CHOP. No significant differences were observed in progression-free survival between elderly patients and patients aged <74 years with DLBCL. Furthermore, no differences were observed between full-dose R-CHOP and 80% dose R-CHOP groups. Median relative dose intensity was 0.80 in elderly patients with DLBCL. Thus, our data suggested that 80% dose R-CHOP is tolerable and effective in these patients.