Impact of treatment variability and clinicopathological characteristics on survival in patients with Epstein‐Barr‐Virus positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Summary Patients with EBV‐positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (EBV+ DLBCL (NOS)) recurrently present with advanced age and reduced performance status. They are therefore insufficiently represented in clinical trials and treatment is likely to differ. Here we assess clinicopathological characteristics, therapeutic variability and clinical outcome in the largest consecutively diagnosed EBV+ DLBCL (NOS) cohort published to date (n = 80; median age 70 years; range 19–90). Centralized and systematic haematopathological panel review was performed. By immunohistochemistry 60/80 patients were CD30‐positive. Further, we identified nine EBV+ DLBCL (NOS) patients with associated or composite peripheral T cell lymphoma at diagnosis or relapse (preceded by clonal T cell populations within the initial DLBCL biopsy in 4/5 cases). Most patients (80%) were treated with R‐CHOP‐type therapy and 16 patients received none or less intensiveprotocols. Upon univariate analysis both R‐CHOP‐type therapy (OS: P