Evaluation of clinical and prognostic features and treatment outcomes in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia


Ekinci O., Turgut E.

PROGRESS IN NUTRITION, vol.23, no.1, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 23 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.23751/pn.v23i1.8833
  • Journal Name: PROGRESS IN NUTRITION
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE
  • Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to investigate the demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment responses, survival rates, and prognostic factors affecting survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Material and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 131 patients with CLL and-divided into two groups, alive and deceased, based on their situation at the time the data were collected for comparison. Results: The majority of the patients were male (n = 95; 72.5%) and the median age was 62 (35-82) at disease baseline. The mean follow-up time was 31.7 months and overall 3- and 5-year survival rates (OS) were 93.4% and 87.4%, respectively, for all patients. There were significant differences between the alive and deceased group with respect to age, platelet count, hemoglobin level, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, Rai, modified Rai, and Binet stages, B symptoms, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) < 0.05). Regardless of treatment regimen, the treatment response rate in patients receiving first-line treatment was better in alive than in deceased (p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed the following independent prognostic factors to affect both overall survival (OS) and treatment-free survival (TFS): age <= 64, Binet <= stage B, B symptoms, albumin > 4.1 g/dL, and presence of hepatomegaly. Also, AIHA was an independent prognostic factor affecting only TFS rates. Conclusion: The demographic characteristics of our patients were consistent with the literature, while our 3- and 5-year survival rates were higher. Notably, hepatomegaly and hypoalbuminemia were associated with low OS and TFS. The limitation of the study was the lack of a clear comparison between treatment regimens due to the uneven distribution of the number of patients receiving treatment.