Abstract
BACKGROUND: Originating from extranodal organs or tissues, primary extranodal lymphoma (PENL) acts in different primary sites with diverse clinical performances and PENL has remarkable geographical differences and lacks the relevant reports in each region. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred and twenty PENL patients were enrolled, and the relevant clinical and laboratory indicators were analyzed. In addition, statistical methods were applied to analyze the effects of different factors on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients. RESULTS: The three most frequent primary sites of PENL are the digestive system, head and neck, and central nervous system. The patients were classified into groups based on their risk status, resulting in low-risk, medium-low-risk, medium-high-risk, and high-risk, and their respective 3-year OS values were calculated, which showed that 121 patients (55%) were in the low-risk group and 3-year OS was 85.2% (25.9% medium-low-risk, 3-year OS 66.6%; 15% medium-high-risk, 3-year OS 61.9%; 4.09% high risk, 3-year OS 45.7%). A multivariate analysis of the Cox regression demonstrated that serum beta 2-microglobulin (β(2)-MG) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS, respectively. Both the performance status and pathological subtypes were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS. CONCLUSION: The correlated independent risk factors such as β(2)-MG, LDH, performance status, and pathological subtypes, were helpful for effectively determining the prognosis of PENL patients and guiding treatment.