Therapeutic efficacy of first-line CHOP or CHOP-like chemotherapy on patients with advanced staged angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of first-line CHOP or CHOP-like regimen on patients with advanced staged angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma(AITL). Methods Between Aug 2006 and Sep 2014, twenty-nine AITL patients who were newly diagnosed without prior treatment were included in study. The clinical features, efficacy and survival were analyzed retrospectively. Results Median age of these patients was 59 years old. All patients had stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ disease. 17 (58.6 %) cases presented with B symptoms. 26 (89.7 %) cases had an international prognostic index (IPI) score ≥2, and 20 (69.0 %) cases had elevated LDH, 9 (31.0 %) cases had ≥2 extranodal involvements. The median follow-up time was 20 months. Overall response rate was 69.0 % (20/29). Five (17.2 %) patients achieved complete remission (CR+CRu), 15 (51.7 %) patients achieved partial remission, and 3 (10.3 %) patients had stable disease (SD), 6 (20.7 %) patients had progressive diseases (PD). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6 months. 1-and 2-year PFS rates were 39.0 % and 20.0 %. 1-, 2-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for all patients were 76.8 %, 53.4 % and 17.1 %, respectively. PFS was significantly better in chemotherapy-sensitive patients (P 0.05). Conclusions The CHOP or CHOP-like regimen maybe induce unfavorable efficacy in AITL patients. Further therapeutic options are required to improve the outcome. Key words: Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma; Drug therapy, combination; Treatment outcome