Using the Swedish and Danish Lymphoma Registries from 2000 to 2011––which included over 95% of all diagnosed lymphoma patients in Sweden and Denmark––the study authors obtained novel data about the prognostic factors and primary treatment of mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL).

Between the year 2000 and 2011, a total of 1389 patients were diagnosed with MCL in Sweden and Denmark. In this population-based cohort, researchers confirmed the prognostic impact of the MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI). Furthermore, a multivariate analysis revealed that the male sex was significantly associated with inferior overall survival (OS; P<.001).

Treatment with the Nordic MCL-2 regimen (324 patients) was associated with superior outcomes compared with most other treatments; the 3-year OS was 80% with the Nordic MCL-2 regimen. Among the patients with MCL who are older than 65 years, the outcomes with chlorambucil (132 patients) were significantly superior to the outcomes with CVP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone) when adjusted for MIPI and rituximab (P=.003). There was no significant difference between the use of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) compared with CHOP plus cytarabine as initial therapy for MCL. In multivariate analyses, the use of rituximab (P<.001) and the use of autologous stem-cell transplantation both correlated with prolonged OS (P<.001). In these registries, 43 patients (3.1%) with stage I to II MCL received radiotherapy as primary treatment with curative intent; for this subset of patients, the estimated 3-year OS was 93%. Among the 29 patients with early-stage MCL (2.1%) who were followed without treatment, the estimated 3-year OS was 79%.

Abrahamsson and colleagues concluded that the real-world data regarding prognostic factors and primary treatment may have relevance for routine clinical practice.

References:

Abrahamsson A, Albertsson-Lindblad A, Brown Pde N, et al. Real World Data On Primary Treatment For Mantle Cell Lymphoma 2000-2011 – a Nordic Lymphoma Group Observational Study. Blood. 2013;122. Abstract 4358.