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Utility of a simple prognostic stratification based on platelet counts and serum albumin levels in elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma

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Abstract

Few studies have examined the prognostic impact of blood markers [other than the five factors in the enhanced International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI)] in elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We retrospectively analyzed 391 DLBCL patients receiving rituximab plus anthracycline-containing chemotherapy to examine the prognostic impact of simple blood markers. The NCCN-IPI was more accurate for discriminating prognoses than the original IPI. Multivariate analysis identified platelet count (<100,000/μl) and albumin (<3.5 g/dl) levels as significantly associated with lower overall survival (OS), independently of the NCCN-IPI. These parameters stratified patients into three risk groups: platelet–albumin (PA) score low (platelet count ≥100,000/μl, albumin ≥3.5 g/dl, n = 243); intermediate (platelet count <100,000/μl, albumin ≥3.5 g/dl or platelet count ≥100,000/μl, albumin <3.5 g/dl, n = 125); and high (platelet count <100,000/μl, albumin <3.5 g/dl, n = 23). The 5-year OS rates were 81.5, 48.6, and 20.2 %, respectively (p < 0.001). Notably, most patients with a low platelet count (n = 30) were stratified into the high-risk subgroup, suggesting that platelet count was prognostic for high-risk patients with a dismal outcome. In elderly patients (n = 291), the prognostic value of the NCCN-IPI might be diminished because the low-risk category was excluded; however, the PA score was predictive of survival: the 5-year OS rates for PA score low (n = 171), intermediate (n = 101), and high (n = 19) groups were 77.6, 47.9, and 19.0 %, respectively (p < 0.001). Platelet count and albumin levels are useful prognostic factors, and their combined use can predict survival, even in elderly patients.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Kasahara Memorial Foundation for Medical Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1, Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Yotaro Ochi, Yasuhiro Kazuma, Yuichiro Ono, Satoshi Yoshioka, Noboru Yonetani, Akiko Matsushita & Takayuki Ishikawa

  2. Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Kawaharacho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Yotaro Ochi & Yasuhiro Kazuma

  3. Department of Cell Therapy, Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, 2-2, Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Nobuhiro Hiramoto & Hisako Hashimoto

  4. Department of Clinical Pathology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1, Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Yukihiro Imai

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  1. Yotaro Ochi
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Correspondence to Yotaro Ochi.

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All procedures involving human participants were undertaken in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments (or comparable ethical standards). The nature of the study meant that the requirement for informed consent was waived.

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Ochi, Y., Kazuma, Y., Hiramoto, N. et al. Utility of a simple prognostic stratification based on platelet counts and serum albumin levels in elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Ann Hematol 96, 1–8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2819-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2819-3

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