title: Post-treatment plasma EBV-DNA positivity predicts early relapse and poor prognosis for patients with extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma in the era of asparaginase.
abstract: Circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is a biomarker of EBV-associated malignancies. Its prognostic value in early stage NK/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) in the era of asparaginase was investigated. 68 patients were treated with a median of 4 cycles of asparaginase-based chemotherapy followed by a median of 54.6 Gy (range 50-60 Gy) radiation. The amount of EBV-DNA was prospectively measured in both pretreatment and post-treatment plasma samples by real-time quantitative PCR. At the end of treatment, complete response (CR) rate was 79.4%, and overall response rate (ORR) was 88.2%. Patients with negative pretreatment EBV-DNA had a higher CR rate (96.0% vs. 69.8%, p = 0.023). The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate was 71% and 83%, respectively. In multivariate survival analysis, post-treatment EBV-DNA positivity and treatment response (non-CR) were prognostic factors for both worse PFS and OS (p < 0.05). Local tumor invasion was also a prognostic factor for worse OS (p = 0.010). In patients with CR, post-treatment EBV-DNA positivity correlated with inferior PFS and OS (both p < 0.0001). In patients with positive pretreatment EBV-DNA, negative post-treatment EBV-DNA correlated with better PFS and OS (both p < 0.0001). These findings indicate that post-treatment EBV-DNA positivity can predict early relapse and poor prognosis for patients with early stage NKTCL in the era of asparaginase, and may be used as an indicator of minimal residual disease.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing-hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhong-jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui-qiang
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wen-qi
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.|Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu-jing
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001215:Asparaginase / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D054391:Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D001215:Asparaginase
keywords: Epstein-Barr virus; asparaginase; extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma; minimal residual disease; prognosis