title: Modified number of extranodal involved sites as a prognosticator in R-CHOP-treated patients with disseminated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy (R-CHOP) has improved survival in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and weakened the prognostic power of the international prognostic index (IPI). We evaluated the efficacy of the IPI and revised IPI (R-IPI) in patients with DLBCL who were treated with R-CHOP, focusing on extranodal site number (ENS) because extranodal involvement occurs frequently in Koreans.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 126 R-CHOP-treated patients with stage III/IV DLBCL were analyzed. We performed a retrospective analysis of the clinicopathologic factors and verified the predictive power of the standard IPI and R-IPI. Various numbers of extranodal sites were analyzed for further stratification, and we set the extranodal site-modified IPI (E-IPI) as the IPI when the number of extranodal sites was stratified as < 3 vs. ≥ 3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A univariate analysis showed that ENS was associated with complete response (CR, p = 0.04), event-free survival (EFS, p = 0.01), and overall survival (OS, p < 0.001) when the ENS cut-off was set at ≥ 3. A multivariate analysis revealed that an ENS ≥ 3 remained associated with EFS (p < 0.01; hazard ratio [HR], 2.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 5.26) and OS (p < 0.01; HR, 3.52; 95% CI, 1.68 to 7.35). The IPI was effective for determining prognosis in terms of OS (p = 0.04) but not EFS (p = 0.17). The R-IPI was effective in terms of both variables (p = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively), as was the E-IPI (p = 0.01 and 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An ENS < 3 vs. ≥ 3, rather than the original < 2 vs. ≥ 2, was the most significant prognostic factor for EFS and OS. All three indices were predictive, but only the E-IPI identified the high-risk group of R-CHOP-treated Korean patients with disseminated DLBCL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Changhoon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byeong Seok
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Jeong-Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dok Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Jooryung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Dae Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sang-We
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jung-Shin
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Cheolwon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000069283:Rituximab; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone