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Ratio of peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte count to absolute monocyte count at diagnosis is associated with progression-free survival in follicular lymphoma

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Abstract

The prognosis of follicular lymphoma (FL) is significantly associated with host immunity and tumor microenvironment. Lymphopenia has been identified as a negative prognostic factor for FL. The association between monocytosis and progression-free survival (PFS) in FL remains controversial. It is unknown whether the ratio of peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte count to absolute monocyte count (ALC/AMC) at diagnosis is associated with FL prognosis. We studied 99 consecutive patients with FL who were treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapy at Kitano Hospital or Kyoto University Hospital between 2000 and 2012. We analyzed individual variables associated with the ALC/AMC ratio before treatment, as well as known prognostic factors of FL, and found that an ALC/AMC ratio of 4.7 was the best cut-off value for PFS. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that a decreased ALC/AMC ratio was associated with inferior PFS (P = 0.022). Multivariate analysis showed that a decreased ALC/AMC ratio was a significant poor prognostic factor independent of other variables (hazard ratio, 2.714; 95 % confidence interval, 1.060–6.948; P = 0.037). The ALC/AMC ratio before treatment may be a significant prognostic factor predicting PFS of FL.

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Acknowledgments

No financial support for this study was provided. The authors would like to thank Dr. Norimitsu Kadowaki, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, for his administrative assistance.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Tazuke Kofukai Medical Research Institute, Kitano Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    Shogo Kumagai, Makoto Iwasaki, Yoshihiro Iwamoto, Yuki Sueki, Akiko Fukunaga, Soshi Yanagita & Nobuyoshi Arima

  2. Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Masaharu Tashima, Momoko Nishikori & Akifumi Takaori-Kondo

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tazuke Kofukai Medical Research Institute, Kitano Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    Jun Fujikawa

Authors
  1. Shogo Kumagai
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  2. Masaharu Tashima
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  3. Jun Fujikawa
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  4. Makoto Iwasaki
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  5. Yoshihiro Iwamoto
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  6. Yuki Sueki
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  7. Akiko Fukunaga
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  8. Soshi Yanagita
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  9. Momoko Nishikori
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  10. Akifumi Takaori-Kondo
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  11. Nobuyoshi Arima
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nobuyoshi Arima.

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Supplemental Figure

Kaplan–Meier estimation of PFS in 99 patients with follicular lymphoma stratified by the ALC (<1100 vs. ≥1100 cells/μL, as indicated in A), and the AMC (<320 vs. ≥320 cells/μL, as indicated in B) is shown. ALC Absolute lymphocyte count, AMC Absolute monocyte count

Supplementary material 1 (EPS 400 kb)

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Kumagai, S., Tashima, M., Fujikawa, J. et al. Ratio of peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte count to absolute monocyte count at diagnosis is associated with progression-free survival in follicular lymphoma. Int J Hematol 99, 737–742 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-014-1576-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-014-1576-0

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