Concordant but not discordant bone marrow involvement in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma predicts a poor clinical outcome independent of the International Prognostic Index.
In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), previous studies have suggested that, while concordant bone marrow (BM) involvement confers a poor prognosis, discordant BM involvement does not. Whether this correlation is independent of the non-Hodgkin lymphoma International Prognostic Index (IPI) was previously unknown. We reviewed all DLBCL case histories from 1986 to 1997 at our center with complete staging, IPI data, and follow-up. A total of 55 (11.2%) of 489 patients had BM involvement, including 29 with concordant involvement and 26 with discordant involvement. The 55 patients with BM involvement had a poor prognosis compared with the uninvolved BM group (5-year overall survival [OS], 34.5% versus 46.9%; log-rank P = .019). However, concordant involvement portended a very poor prognosis (5-year OS, 10.3%; P < .001), whereas discordant involvement did not (5-year OS, 61.5%, P value nonsignificant). Compared with the discordant subset, the concordant subset patients were older, had a higher serum lactate dehydrogenase level, and a significantly higher IPI. However, the poor survival associated with concordant BM involvement was independent of the IPI score (P = .002, Cox regression). We conclude that in patients with DLBCL, concordant but not discordant BM involvement confers a very poor clinical outcome. Furthermore, concordant BM involvement is an independent adverse prognostic factor.
Chung
Randy
R
Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Lai
Raymond
R
Wei
Peter
P
Lee
Jason
J
Hanson
John
J
Belch
Andrew R
AR
Turner
A Robert
AR
Reiman
Tony
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome