Clinical impact of cell-free serum Epstein–Barr virus status in patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphoma
- Author:
Dong Won BAEK
1
;
Jung Min LEE
;
Juhyung KIM
;
Hee Jeong CHO
;
Sang Kyun SOHN
;
Ji Yeon HAM
;
Soon Hee CHANG
;
Joon Ho MOON
;
Deok-Hwan YANG
Author Information
- Publication Type:ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- From:Blood Research 2021;56(2):65-71
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:We analyzed cell-free serum Epstein‒Barr virus (EBV) DNA to identify its prognostic role in patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma.
Methods:We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with lymphoma between January 2014 and July 2020. Patients were enrolled according to the following criteria: i) pathologically confirmed lymphomas according to the World Health Organization criteria, ii) age over 18 years, iii) serum EBV DNA measurement using polymerase chain reaction prior to first-line therapy, and iv) receipt of curative standard chemotherapy. In total, 263 patients met these criteria and were included in this study.
Results:Serum EBV DNA was detected in 79 patients (30.0%). Patients with positive serum EBV tended to be older (P =0.090), and the proportion of T-cell lineage lymphomas was higher than that of B-cell lymphomas (P =0.003). EBV positivity was significantly associated with more advanced disease based on the Ann Arbor staging system (P =0.008) and the International Prognostic Index (P =0.009). EBV positivity was also associated with higher disease relapse (P =0.038) and death rates (P =0.005). EBV-positive lymphomas further showed inferior long-term survival outcomes in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) (P =0.053) and overall survival (OS) (P =0.014). In the subgroup analyses, serum EBV positivity was a significant prognostic factor for patients with B-cell lineage lymphomas in terms of PFS (P =0.003) and OS (P =0.033).
Conclusion:We demonstrated that cell-free serum EBV DNA status at the time of diagnosis has potential as a prognostic biomarker for patients with newly diagnosed malignant lymphomas.
