Stage I DLBCL: extranodal may mean extra radiation.

In this issue of Blood, Bobillo et al present a retrospective analysis of outcomes in stage I diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) or R-CHOP–like regimens with or without radiation therapy (RT). While the overall outcome was excellent, patients with extranodal presentation had an inferior outcome compared with patients with nodal disease. Consolidation with RT improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with extranodal disease, mainly due to improved outcomes in positron emission tomography (PET)–positive patients at the end of immunochemotherapy.