Poor Outcomes in T-cell Lymphoma CNS Relapse Driven Mostly By Systemic Disease

Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) occurs at a frequency similar to what is observed in aggressive B-cell lymphomas, but the poor outcomes in relapse are mostly driven by systemic disease rather than CNS disease, a study pre-published online in the journal Blood has shown.

Although risk factors and outcome have been studied in CNS relapse in aggressive B-cell lymphomas, there is very little data about the risk in PTCL, both being types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Patients with NHL who experience CNS relapse typically have a very poor prognosis.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from 625 patients with PTCL. Of those, 4.5% developed CNS disease over time.

Results showed that involvement of >1 extranodal site, skin involvement, and gastrointestinal involvement were all significantly associated with an increased risk of later CNS involvement (P = 0.035, 0.016, 0.010, respectively).

Researchers found that the outcome of patients with relapsed/refractory PTCL was very poor, but CNS involvement was associated with a significantly worst outcome compared with patients with relapsed/refractory disease without CNS involvement.

Reference

1. Ellin F, Landstrom J, Jerkeman M, Relander T. Central nervous system relapse in peripheral T-cell lymphomas: a Swedish lymphoma registry study. Blood. 2015. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1182/blood-2014-12-616961.