Abstract
BACKGROUND: T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a highly aggressive neoplasm of lymphoblasts of T-cell origin. Although promising improvements have been recently achieved, one third of patients experience relapse or refractory T-LBL. Therefore, optimal strategies for identifying high-risk patients are urgently needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, 75 newly diagnosed adult patients (aged ≥15 years) with T-LBL were identified and the predictive value of complete blood count (CBC) abnormalities, including lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on clinical outcomes, was analyzed. RESULTS: Using the receiver operating characteristic curve to determine the best cutoff values based on survival, it was found that patients with T-LBL with LMR ≤2.8, NLR ≥3.3, and PLR ≥200 had both inferior progression-free survival (PFS) and inferior overall survival (OS), in which the differences were much more remarkable in the international prognostic index score 0-2 subgroup. In the multivariable analysis, NLR ≥3.3 together with age >40 years and central nervous system (CNS) involvement were identified to be independently associated with shortened PFS, whereas PLR ≥200 and CNS involvement were identified to be independent risk factors for OS. LMR, NLR, and PLR were integrated to generate a "CBC score" model, which well separated adult patients with T-LBL into three risk groups, and the 3-year OS was 84%, 53%, and 30% for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, a "CBC score" model was initially promoted for stratification in adult patients with T-LBL using simple, widely available, and easy to interpret parameters in the largest adult T-LBL cohort to date. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Optimal strategies for identifying high-risk patients with T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) are urgently needed. In the largest adult T-LBL cohort to date, simple, inexpensive, widely available parameters were applied and revealed that patients with lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) ≤2.8, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥3.3, and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) ≥200 had both inferior progression-free survival and inferior overall survival (OS), in which the differences were much more remarkable in the international prognostic index score 0-2 subgroup. LMR, NLR, and PLR were integrated to generate a "complete blood count score" model, in which the 3-year OS was 84%, 53%, and 30% for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients, respectively.