Predictive value of blood routine and blood biochemical indicators for immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy-related interstitial pneumonia in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 白血病·淋巴瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of blood routine and blood biochemical indicators for immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy-related interstitial pneumonia (IP) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).Methods:The data of 151 newly-diagnosed DLBCL patients treated with rituximab combined with chemotherapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from December 2017 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether IP occurred, the patients were divided into IP group and non-IP group. The patient's clinical data and baseline laboratory test results were collected. The differences in clinicopathological features and laboratory indicators between IP group and non-IP group were analyzed. In addition, the relationship between the variety of blood routine and blood biochemical indicators and the occurrence of IP was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the selected indicators to predict the occurrence of IP was drawn, and the predictive performance of each indicator was analyzed.Results:The incidence of IP was 9.3% (14/151) in DLBCL patients after receiving immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy. The lymphocyte count (LYM) in IP group at the first diagnosis was higher than that in non-IP group [1.60×10 9/L (1.40×10 9/L, 2.51×10 9/L) vs. 1.28×10 9/L (0.89×10 9/L, 1.78×10 9/L), U=-2.194, P=0.028], but there was no significant difference in the levels of platelet count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH), serum albumin (ALB) and the proportion of patients with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Compared with the laboratory indicators in non-IP group before the 4th cycle of treatment, LYM and ALB in IP group were significantly reduced at IP onset [0.72×10 9/L (0.46×10 9/L, 0.92×10 9/L) vs. 0.93×10 9/L (0.71×10 9/L, 1.15×10 9/L), 32.9 g/L (28.6 g/L, 34.9 g/L) vs. 40.3 g/L (36.1 g/L, 43.1 g/L)], but LDH and α-HBDH increased [332 U/L (255 U/L, 396 U/L) vs. 233 U/L (200 U/L, 286 U/L), 277 U/L (206 U/L, 315 U/L) vs. 189 U/L (159 U/L, 229 U/L)], and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The proportion of patients with elevated CRP in IP group was high than that in non-IP group [100.0% (14/14) vs. 56.9% (78/137), P=0.001]. The area under ROC curve of LYM, ALB, LDH and α-HBDH alone for predicting the occurrence of IP was 0.668, 0.820, 0.789 and 0.802. The best cut-off values of ALB, LDH and α-HBDH was 34.6 g/L, 241 U/L and 199 U/L. ALB had the highest sensitivity for predicting the occurrence of IP (81.8%). The areas under ROC curve of ALB+LDH, ALB+α-HBDH, LDH+α-HBDH, ALB+LDH+α-HBDH for predicting the occurrence of IP was 0.850, 0.844, 0.777 and 0.851, respectively. LDH+α-HBDH had the highest predictive sensitivity (92.9%), but the specificity was low (53.3%). The prediction sensitivity (both 78.6%) and specificity (both 86.1%) of ALB+LDH and ALB+LDH+α-HBDH were high. Conclusions:DLBCL patients are at risk of IP during immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy. The increased LYM at initial diagnosis is a risk factor for the occurrence of IP. The variety of LYM, ALB, LDH, α-HBDH and CRP during the treatment may be related to the occurrence of IP. Among them, ALB, LDH and α-HBDH have important predictive values for the occurrence of IP.