Prognostic value of age-adjusted international prognostic index in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large b-cell lymphoma - a single centre experience

. The research aimed to evaluate the impact of age-adjusted international prognostic index and time to the first relapse on overall survival and progression-free survival from the beginning of the second line of treatment in patients with relapsed/ refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Material and Methods. The research included 36 patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Serbia, from January 2013 to December 2015. Patients were stratified according to age-adjusted international prognostic index score at the time of relapse into patients with low risk (score 0 - 1) and patients with high risk (score 2 - 3), as well as according to the time of the first relapse: early relapse (? 12 months) and late relapse (> 12 months). Results. In the group of patients with a score of 0 - 1, the median overall survival was 44 months compared with 6 months in patients with score of 2 - 3, hazard ratio 0,4 (confidence interval 0,16 - 0,99), p = 0,03. In patients with early relapse, the median overall survival was 7 months compared with 25 months in patients with late relapse, hazard ratio 0,55 (confidence interval 0,25 - 1,19), p = 0,12. In patients with early relapse, median progression-free survival was 0 months compared with 10 months in patients with late relapse, hazard ratio 0,34 (confidence interval 0,12 - 1,00), p = 0,0017. Conclusion. The impact of age-adjusted international prognostic index score significantly affects overall survival in patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The time to the first relapse impacts progression-free survival calculated from the time of the second-line treatment initiation.