Abstract
Peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) is the most common histological subtype of PTCL. PTCL-NOS has a relatively low incidence, and its pathogenesis and mechanisms of drug resistance remain unclear, leading to lagging research progress. The aim of the present study was to summarize the clinical features and outcomes of patients with PTCL-NOS. A total of 30 patients with treatment-naive PTCL-NOS who were admitted to The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University (Shijiazhuang, China) between September 2013 and September 2023 were retrospectively analysed. The median age at diagnosis was 59 years (range, 17-70 years), and the male-to-female ratio was 2.75:1. The median follow-up duration was 59 months. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 50.4 and 28.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status >1, bone marrow involvement and a platelet count <150×10(9)/l were independent risk factors for OS, whereas bone marrow involvement and albumin levels <35 g/l were independent risk factors for PFS. There was no significant difference between the cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone and etoposide regimen and the cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone regimen, whereas combinations with chidamide showed a trend toward an improved PFS. Within the cohort, 2 patients with relapsed and refractory CD30-positive PTCL-NOS received salvage chemotherapy with brentuximab vedotin (BV), a monoclonal antibody, and achieved complete metabolic remission, followed by sequential allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, resulting in long-term sustained remission. In conclusion, patients diagnosed with PTCL-NOS generally have a poor prognosis. Nevertheless, the use of innovative targeted therapies, such as chidamide and BV, shows potential to improve treatment outcomes in these patients.