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Prognostic significance of serum monoclonal proteins based on immunofixation electrophoresis in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

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Abstract

The presence of serum monoclonal components has been associated with poor outcomes in various hematological malignancies. The current study focused on exploring its prognostic role in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Our study represented 314 patients with information on serum immunofixation electrophoresis at diagnosis that were available with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. IFE was positive in 61 patients (19%). Baseline features were comparable between pairs of groups, poor ECOG PS, B symptoms, advanced stage, and high-risk IPI score were significantly more frequent in the + IFE group. Shorter PFS and OS of B-NHL patients were observed in patients who presented at diagnosis with a + IFE, and IFE was the independent predictor of PFS and OS in multivariate analysis. Moreover, integrating IFE into the IPI-M1, IPI-M2, and IPI-M3 models improved the area under the curve for more accurate survival prediction and prognosis. Serum monoclonal proteins are significant prognostic indicators for newly diagnosed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can early identify patients with poor prognosis and guide clinical treatment decisions.

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The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the oncology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and the Medical Science Academy of Zhengzhou University, and the authors would like to show great gratitude to them all.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 82170183, 81970184, U1904139, 82000203), the Department of Science & Technology of Henan province (grant number 182102310114), and the Key scientific research project plan of colleges and universities in Henan Province (grant number 21A320027).

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YG, XF, and MZ: conceptualization; YG, XF, WS, ZZ, and JZ: collected and analyzed the research data; XF, MZ, ZL, and LZ: guidance and supervision; YG: writing—original draft; ZL and MZ: writing—reviewing and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mingzhi Zhang.

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This study involving human participants was reviewed and approved by The Ethics Committee of Scientific Research and Clinical Trial the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and followed the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

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Gao, Y., Feng, X., Song, W. et al. Prognostic significance of serum monoclonal proteins based on immunofixation electrophoresis in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Ann Hematol 103, 1261–1271 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-023-05584-w

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