Limei Zhang,1,2,* He Huang,1,3,* Zhao Wang,1,3,* Xiaojie Fang,1,3 Huangming Hong,4 Yungchang Chen,4 Fangfang Li,1,3 Yuyi Yao,1,3 Zegeng Chen,1,3 Fei Pan,1,3 Xiaoqian Li,1,3 Meiting Chen,1,3 Robert Peter Gale,5 Yang Liang,1,2,* Tongyu Lin1,3,4,* 1Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Peopleâs Republic of China; 2Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, Peopleâs Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, Peopleâs Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Peopleâs Republic of China; 5Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Haematology Research Centre, Imperial College London, London, UK*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tongyu LinDepartment of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, Peopleâs Republic of ChinaEmail linty@sysucc.org.cnYang LiangDepartment of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, 651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, Peopleâs Republic of ChinaEmail liangyang@sysucc.org.cnBackground: The management of primary intestinal diffuse large B cell lymphoma (PI-DLBCL) in elderly patients (aged > 60 years) remains controversial. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the efficacy of different treatment strategies and prognostic factors for elderly Chinese patients with PI-DLBCL.Patients and Methods: Forty-six untreated elderly patients with PI-DLBCL were included in this retrospective study. Twenty-four patients were treated with surgery (prior to chemotherapy) plus chemotherapy (SCT). The other 22 patients did not undergo surgery before chemotherapy (CT).Results: Patients treated with SCT had a higher overall response rate of 91.7% than patients receiving CT, but the difference between groups was not significant (P=0.581). Regarding survival, SCT resulted in a greater 3-year overall survival (OS) rate (87.3% vs 56.9%, P=0.130) and significantly higher 3-year event-free survival (EFS) rate (74.1% vs 27.3%, P=0.002) than CT. The univariate analysis showed that male sex, advanced Lugano stage, poor performance status and chemotherapy alone were associated with a shorter EFS. Only the male sex was correlated with a shorter OS. The multivariate analysis showed that sex (P=0.040) and treatment strategy (P=0.022) were independent prognostic factors for EFS.Conclusion: Surgery plus chemotherapy produced a better outcome for EFS, but not OS, than chemotherapy alone in elderly Chinese patients with PI-DLBCL.Keywords: PI-DLBCL, surgery, chemotherapy, survival, prognostic factors