The clinical features, treatment, and prognostic factors for peripheral T‐cell lymphomas: A single‐institution analysis of 240 Chinese patients

Abstract Aim This study aimed to analyze the clinical features, treatment, survival, and prognostic factors of Chinese patients with peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (PTCL) excluding natural killer/T‐cell lymphoma (NKTCL). Methods Data on patients with newly diagnosed PTCLs between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2017 at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with NKTCL were excluded. Results A total of 240 patients were included. PTCL, not otherwise specified (PTCL‐NOS), was the most frequent subtype (42.5%), followed by angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma (AITL) (21.3%), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)‐negative anaplastic large‐cell lymphoma (ALK‐ALCL) (16.7%), ALK‐positive ALCL (ALK+ALCL) (10.8%) and others (8.8%). With a median follow‐up of 81.1 months, the 5‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates for all patients were 30.4% (95% CI 25.0%–37.0%) and 48.8% (95% CI 42.6%–55.7%), respectively. On multivariate analysis, no consolidative autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) and not achieving complete response after first‐line chemotherapy retained independently prognostic value for inferior PFS and OS. Besides, bone marrow involvement and serum albumin level were independent factors for PFS, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥2 was significantly predictive of inferior OS. Compared with PTCL‐NOS, significantly superior PFS and OS were observed for ALK+ALCL and ALK‐ALCL. Conclusion The survival outcomes with current treatment for most PTCL subtypes are still unsatisfactory. Prospective randomized studies are needed to establish the value of consolidative ASCT in PTCL, and novel therapeutic approaches should be explored.