The effect of bulky mass on prognosis in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma: still poor?

•The introduction of rituximab to the CHOP improved PFS and OS in DLBCL.•In the pre-rituximab period, it was shown that bulky mass has poor prognosis.•The effect of bulky disease under R-CHOP therapy remained uncertain.•Bulky disease does not seem to affect remission status.•Overall survival was not influenced by bulky disease. The introduction of rituximab to the CHOP protocol has demonstrated an improvement in PFS and OS in DLBCL patients with both early and advanced stages. Most studies in the pre-rituximab period indicated that bulky disease has an unfavorable impact on clinical outcomes of DLBCL. The effect of bulky mass on the outcome of DLBCL patients undergoing R-CHOP therapy remained uncertain. One-hundred-twelve newly diagnosed DLBCL patients aged 18 and older were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into groups-based presence of bulky disease. 56 patients with bulky disease and their age, gender, ECOG score, Ann Arbor stage, immunohistochemical origin, treatment, radiotherapy and comorbidity 1:1 matched 56 control patients with non-bulky disease included. Overall response rate at end of treatment was similar among groups (p = 0.1). Patients with bulky disease and non-bulky disease were comparable regarding overall survival (p = 0,9). All cohort investigated for predictors for survival, after multivariate analysis, ECOG score, Ann arbor stage, IPI score and LDH level were found significant. Here, we found no impact of bulky disease on remission and survival. We believe, with increasing available data, poor prognostic value of bulky disease will be weakening in the rituximab era.