Real-world treatment patterns and characteristics of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): a retrospective analysis of US commercial and Medicare claims (2017–2024)

To understand the recent, evolving treatment landscape for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL), we retrospectively analyzed US claims data from MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicare databases and Symphony Health Solutions database for adult patients who initiated first-line DLBCL therapy from January 2017 through June 2023 (MarketScan) or May 2024 (Symphony). The MarketScan analysis included 3552 patients (median follow-up: 15 months). The Symphony analysis included 49,370 patients (median follow-up: 35 months). Results from this contemporary real-world analysis showed heterogeneity in DLBCL treatments administered, with a lack of standard of care in the third-line/fourth-line setting. In both analyses, most patients (>50% per line) received rituximab-based therapy as second-line or later-line therapy. These results highlight a need for new regimens that demonstrate clinical benefit and improve overall survival in patients with R/R DLBCL, while also being feasible and widely applicable in routine practice.