Protein kinase C-β II expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma predicts for inferior outcome of anthracycline-based chemotherapy with and without rituximab

Abstract

Protein kinase C-β II (PKC-β II) expression has been reported to indicate inferior prognosis in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. This study compared prognostic significance of immunohistochemically determined PKC-β II expression in de novo DLBCL treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone CHOP chemotherapy with and without rituximab. Outcomes were assessed in 80 consecutive patients, 48 treated with CHOP, and 32 with rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP). PKC-β II expression correlated with inferior overall survival OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in CHOP-treated patients with low-risk International Prognostic Ind..