Patient selection: peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS)
Key factors associated with a poor prognosis on stepwise multivariate analysis:
(1) International Prognostic Index (IPI, 28.07.04) >= 3 (3, 4 or 5)
(2) > 70% transformed tumor cells
where:
• The best survival was seen with an IPI of 0 or 1.
• An IPI of 2 had survival between the good and the bad.
• The IPI is based on age, serum LDH, performance status, Ann Arbor stage and extranodal involvement.
Additional adverse prognostic factors identified on univariate analysis:
(1) bulky disease (tumor mass > 10 cm in diameter)
(2) thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 150,000 per µL)
(3) B symptoms
(4) elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP)
(5) circulating tumor cells (in the peripheral blood)
Favorable prognostic factors on univariate analysis:
(1) presence of hypergammaglobulinemia
