Soluble interleukin-2 receptor level at diagnosis predicts prognosis of patients with follicular lymphoma irrespective of initial management strategy

Abstract

Background/Aim: Although various prognostic indices for follicular lymphoma (FL) have been proposed, they are designed specifically for patients requiring immediate therapy. We aimed to develop a new simple prognostic tool applicable for all patients with FL at diagnosis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed various clinical, pathological, and laboratory data, including soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL2R), from 140 patients with FL from two centers for their impact on prognosis. This study analyzed the impact of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL2R) in order to develop a new simple prognostic tool applicable for all patients with FL at diagnosis. Results: The initial management of these patients was watchful waiting (n=48) or immediate treatment (n=92). Event-free survival at 24 months predicted overall survival. When categorized into three groups according to the sIL2R levels at diagnosis, a very high sIL2R level identified about 20% of patients with a distinctively worse survival compared to the others. Conclusion: sIL2R is a very effective biomarker that can be easily applied in routine practice to predict survival for all patients with FL at diagnosis irrespective of initial management approach.