Abstract
An analysis of prognostic factors has been performed on 260 patients with high and intermediate grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) treated over an 11-year period between 1975 and 1986. The overall 5-year survival rate was 50% with a median follow-up of 72 months. Over 20 clinical, radiological and laboratory parameters have been studied, including variables reported to be important indicators of prognosis in previous series, and these variables have been subjected to univariate and multivariate analysis. Attainment of complete remission (CR) was the most important predictor of overall survival, low serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), limited stage disease and a high serum albumin were also independently associated with prolonged survival in multivariate analysis. After removing remission status from the model, Ann Arbor clinical stage became the most significant pre-treatment prognostic indicator. Sixty-five per cent of patients achieved CR, and a discriminant analysis showed that failure to attain CR was associated with advanced stage disease, constitutional symptoms, increasing patient age, a low serum albumin and the presence of bulk disease. Advanced clinical stage and an elevated serum LDH predicted independently for a poor relapse-free survival, and reduced overall survival following CR. There was no significant correlation between histological subtype in the Kiel classification and prognosis. This study confirms the prognostic significance of remission status and Ann Arbor clinical stage, and illustrates additional factors including serum levels of albumin and LDH, which serve to enhance the pre-treatment prognostic evaluation of patients with unfavourable histology NHL.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cowan, R., Jones, M., Harris, M. et al. Prognostic factors in high and intermediate grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Br J Cancer 59, 276–282 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1989.57
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1989.57
This article is cited by
-
Correlative analysis of overall survival with clinical characteristics in 127 patients with mantle cell lymphoma: a multi-institutional cohort in Taiwan
International Journal of Hematology (2020)
-
Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Prognostic Indicator
Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry (2016)
-
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: experience from a tertiary care center in north India
Medical Oncology (2010)