Non-Follicular Low Grade B-Cell Lymphomas: Patterns of Presentation and Management with Comparative Prognostic Utility of IPI and FLIPI

Optimal treatment for non-follicular low grade B-cell lymphoma (NFLGL) is not well defined. Clinical trial design for these subtypes would be enhanced by further understanding of early presentation and management. A large prospective observational study was used to identify presenting clinical features, describe patterns of care and compare the prognostic utility of International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI).

The University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) is a prospective, longitudinal observational study designed to collect information on patterns of care and outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma. Patients seen at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN and the University of Iowa within 9 months of their initial diagnosis of lymphoma are offered enrollment. Baseline patient reported data, clinical data and initial management are collected using a standard protocol and a central pathology review is performed. After enrollment, patients are actively followed for events (disease progression, retreatment, and death) and disease related comorbidities. This analysis includes 198 patients diagnosed with extranodal marginal zone (EMZL), 22 with nodal marginal zone (NMZL), 47 with splenic marginal zone (SMZL), 48 with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL), as well as 67 patients with unclassifiable low-grade B-cell lymphoma (B-NOS).

382 newly diagnosed NFLGBL patients were enrolled in the MER from 2002–2009. The median age at enrollment was 63 years (range 22–95). 52% were male. The most common types of initial therapy after diagnosis were observation (41 %), alkylator- based chemotherapy +/− rituximab (R) (17%), radiation therapy alone (15%) and R monotherapy (13%). At median follow-up of 60 months (range 1–121), 51 patients were deceased and 155 had an event. The clinical characteristics that comprise the IPI and FLIPI were similar across the subtypes. Approximately half of the cases presented at low risk (55% IPI; 48% FLIPI). A majority had a normal LDH (81%), limited nodal involvement (91% had ≤ 4 groups), normal hemoglobin (71% ≥12 g/dL), good performance status (95% 0–1), and advanced stage (57% stages III-IV). There were notable differences among the NFLGBL subtypes. Patients with SMZL and LPL presented with high risk FLIPI of 3–5 (49% and 46% respectively) and high to high-intermediate IPI of 3–5 (21% and 13%). Abnormal LDH and anemia (< 12 g/dL) were more frequent in patients with SMZL (40%; 56%) and LPL (25%; 62%). EMZL presented with lower stages (70% stage I-II) and NMZL presented with increased nodal involvement (38% >4 sites). SMZL had the highest rates of surgical resection (21%) and EMZL was more frequently treated with radiation therapy (25%). LPL (30%) and NMZL (32%) more commonly received alkylator based chemotherapy +/− R. While both IPI and FLIPI differentiated outcome in these patients, FLIPI had higher c-statistics than IPI for both EFS (0.583 vs 0.568) and OS (0.685 vs 0.661), respectively.

This large prospective collection of data on NFLGBL patients presenting to academic medical centers provides a modern picture of presentation and management patterns useful to investigators designing clinical trials. FLIPI may have more prognostic utility than IPI in this group of patients.

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Ansell:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding.