title: The prognostic significance of lymphopenia in peripheral T-cell and natural killer/T-cell lymphomas: a study of 826 cases from the International Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma Project.
abstract: Lymphopenia is a marker of inferior survival in patients with various malignancies. However, the prognostic significance of lymphopenia in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is unclear. We analyzed the prognostic significance of lymphopenia in 826 patients with different types of PTCL and natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) from the International Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma Project. Lymphopenia was defined as an absolute lymphocyte count of less than 1,000 cells per microliter. The overall frequency of lymphopenia was 35.3%, ranging from 21.1% in ALK(+) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) to 47.5% in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Lymphopenia was independently associated with an inferior overall survival (OS) in patients with the lymphoma type of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), with a 2-year OS of 15% versus 40% for those without lymphopenia (P < 0.001). Lymphopenia was also an adverse predictor of survival in PTCL, not otherwise specified, but was associated with other unfavorable prognostic factors. A trend toward inferior survival for lymphopenic patients was also observed in AITL, ALK(-) ALCL and extranasal NKTCL lymphoma, whereas no difference in survival was found in nasal NKTCL, ALK(+) ALCL, or enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. In this study, lymphopenia was identified as a new adverse prognostic factor in the lymphoma type of ATLL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, 68198-3135, USA.
authors.forename: Zdravko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mitrovic
authors.forename: Anamarija M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suzumiya
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Armitage
authors.forename: Wing Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Au
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coiffier
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holte
authors.forename: Elaine S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: Emili
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Monserrat
authors.forename: Sandeep K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.forename: Kerry J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Kensei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tobinai
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vose
authors.forename: Dennis D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Weisenburger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D054391:Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D016411:Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate