Pathological characteristics and clinical prognosis of nodular sclerosis grade 2 of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To investigate the pathological characteristics and clinical prognosis of nodular sclerosis grade 2 of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL-NS2) in our cancer center. Methods: A retrospective collection of 23 cases of cHL-NS2 admitted in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College from July 2008 to April 2019 was performed. Fifty-five cases of nodular sclerosis grade 1 of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL-NS1) during the same period were selected as control group. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for survival. Results: The median age of 23 cases of cHL-NS2 was 30 years old. Five cases had extra nodal invasion, and 19 cases were Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage based on Ann Arbor system. The pathological morphology of cHL-NS2 showed that the lymph node structure was completely destroyed and was divided into nodules by thick collagen. The tumor cells in the nodules were abundant and proliferated in sheets. The boundaries between the tumor cells were not clear. The incidence of tumor necrosis in cHL-NS2 was 43.5% (10/23), which was significantly higher than 18.2% (10/55) in cHL-NS1 (P=0.040). The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate of patients in the cHL-NS2 group was 58.1%, which was significantly lower than 89.7% in the cHL-NS1 group (P=0.002). In all of 78 cases, the 3-year PFS rate of patients who did not obtain complete response (CR) was 67.1%, which was significantly lower than 92.2% in patients who achieved CR (P=0.030). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that both cHL-NS2 and failure to obtain CR by first-line treatment were independent indicators for short PFS time (P<0.05). Conclusions: In cHL-NS2, the morphology of tumor cells are diverse, and tumor necrosis can be easily found. Under the current first-line treatments of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) or bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP), cHL-NS2 is an independent indicator for worse PFS.

High frequency of primary refractory disease and low progression-free survival rate of Hodgkin's lymphoma: a decade of experience in a Latin American center

Abstract Background: Reports dealing with clinical outcomes of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma in low- to middle-income countries are scarce and response to therapy is poorly documented. This report describes the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma from a single institution in Latin America. Method: A retrospective study was conducted over ten years of patients with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma treated at a referral center. Progression-free and overall survival rates were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The univariate Cox regression model was used to estimate associations between important variables and clinical outcomes. Main results: One hundred and twenty-eight patients were analyzed. The mean age was 28.5 years. The five-year progression-free and overall survival were 37.3% and 78.9%, respectively. Of the whole group, 55 (43%) were primary refractory cases. Only 39/83 (47%) patients with advanced disease vs. 34/45 (75.6%) in early stages (p-value = 0.002) achieved complete remission. Those with advanced disease had a five-year overall survival of 68.7% vs. 91.8% for early disease (p-value = 0.132). Thirty-one patients relapsed (24.2%) and 20 (64.5%) received a transplant. The hazard ratio for progression with bone marrow infiltration was 2.628 (p-value = 0.037). For death, an International Prognostic Score ≥4 had a hazard ratio of 3.355 (p-value = 0.050) in univariate analysis. Two-thirds of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma patients diagnosed at advanced stages had a low progression-free survival but an overall survival similar to high-income countries. Conclusion: Patients diagnosed with classical Hodgkin's lymphoma in Northeastern Mexico had a significantly low progression-free survival rate and presented with advanced disease, underscoring the need for earlier diagnosis and improved contemporary therapeutic strategies in these mainly young productive-age Hodgkin's lymphoma patients.