Clinical Significance of Plasma Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The clinical implications of plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) remain unclear. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> This study aimed to explore the clinical correlations of pre- and post-treatment plasma EBV-DNA concentrations with treatment outcomes and prognosis in patients with PTCL. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We retrospectively reviewed 128 patients diagnosed with PTCL with available data on pre-treatment plasma EBV-DNA, including 63 patients for whom post-treatment plasma EBV-DNA data were also available. Patients with extra-nodal NK/T-<X00_Del_TrennDivis></X00_Del_TrennDivis>cell lymphoma were excluded from this study. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Pre-treatment plasma EBV-DNA was elevated (e.g., ≥500 copies/mL) in 35.2% of PTCL patients, with significant differences in positive rates between different subtypes of PTCL (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). High pre-treatment EBV-DNA concentrations were associated with advanced age (&#x3e;60 years), elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels, high International Prognostic Index (IPI), and positive EBV-encoded RNAs-ISH in tumor specimens. In multivariate analyses, pre-treatment EBV-DNA ≥500 copies/mL was an independent prognostic factor after adjusting for IPI and pathological subtypes (hazard ratio = 2.14, <i>p</i> = 0.032). For patients with elevated pre-treatment EBV-DNA, normalization of EBV-DNA concentrations after first-line chemotherapy was significantly associated with better overall response rate (81.3% vs. 22.2%, <i>p</i> = 0.014), progression-free survival (12.0 months vs. 3.7 months, <i>p</i> = 0.011), and overall survival (37.9 months vs. 7.8 months, <i>p</i> = 0.012). For patients achieving remission to first-line therapy, rebound of EBV-DNA levels during follow-up was associated with disease relapse or progression. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> These results suggest that pre-treatment plasma EBV-DNA concentration is a strong prognostic factor for PTCL. For patients with elevated pre-treatment EBV-DNA, dynamic monitoring of EBV-DNA changes after initiation of therapy is useful for predicting treatment outcome and disease relapse.