In patients with intermediate or high grade lymphoma, clinical or laboratory factors associated with prognosis can be identified using univariate or multivariate analysis. These can help in making therapeutic decisions, especially if the histologic type is unfavorable.
Prognostic Factors Including Remission Status
Variable |
Favorable |
remission status |
complete remission |
LDH |
low value |
clinical stage (Ann Arbor) |
stage I |
serum albumin |
high value (>= 4 g/dL) |
Prognostic Factors, Excluding Remission Status
Variable |
Favorable |
clinical stage (Ann Arbor) |
stage I |
albumin |
high value (>= 4 g/dL) |
age |
young age (< 50 years) |
GGT |
low value |
B category symptoms |
absent |
Interpretation
Attainment of complete remission was the best predictor of overall survival.
(1) median survival for complete responders: over 6 years (good)
(2) median survival for partial responders: 13 months (intermediate)
(3) median survival for nonresponders: 2 months (poor)
If the remission status was excluded, the clinical stage was the most significant pretreatment prognostic indicator.
Patients with no favorable indicators may benefit from more aggressive therapy.
Specialty: Hematology Oncology