Korean J Intern Med.  2009 Jun;24(2):128-134. 10.3904/kjim.2009.24.2.128.

Clinicopathologic Characteristics of T-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: A Single Institution Experience

• Ko OB
• Lee DH
• Kim SW
• Lee JS
• Kim S
• Huh J
• Suh C

• KMID: 1717963
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2009.24.2.128

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although the incidence of T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is higher in Far East Asia than in Western countries, its incidence and clinical course in Korea are not well-defined. Therefore, we assessed the relative frequency and clinical features of T-cell NHL in Korea.
METHODS
We performed a retrospetcive analysis of 586 patients with NHL.
RESULTS
101 (17.2%) had T-cell NHL. The most frequent subtypes of T-cell NHL were extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (NASAL), peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified type (PTCL-U), and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, T/null cell, primary systemic type (ALCL). The seven pathological subtypes could be classified into three prognostic subgroups. When patients with the three most frequent subtypes were grouped together, their survival was reflected in the International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores. Univariate analysis of IPI elements and other clinical features showed that clinical stage and extranodal sites were significant predictors of survival. Cox multivariate analysis showed that the number of extranodal sites was the only independent prognostic indicator.
CONCLUSIONS
The relative frequency of T-cell NHL seems to be decreasing in Korea, although NASAL remains frequent. Korean patients with ALCL appear to have an unfavorable prognosis. Large-scale studies are warranted for Korean patients with T-cell NHL.

Keyword

Lymphoma, T-cell, Peripheral

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Female
Humans
Incidence
Kaplan-Meiers Estimate
Korea/epidemiology
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/ethnology/*mortality/*pathology
Lymphoma, T-Cell/ethnology/*mortality/*pathology
Male
Middle Aged
Predictive Value of Tests
Prognosis
Proportional Hazards Models
Retrospective Studies
Risk Assessment
Time Factors
Young Adult