Frontiers in Oncology (Nov 2020)

Superiority of Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in the Plasma Over Whole Blood for Prognostication of Extranodal NK/T Cell Lymphoma

  • Joo Young Ha,
  • Joo Young Ha,
  • Hyungwoo Cho,
  • Heungsup Sung,
  • Ah Ra Jung,
  • Yoon Sei Lee,
  • Sang-Wook Lee,
  • Jin-Sook Ryu,
  • Eun Jin Chae,
  • Kyung Won Kim,
  • Jooryung Huh,
  • Chan-Sik Park,
  • Dong-Joon Kim,
  • Seon-Ok Kim,
  • Dok Hyun Yoon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.594692
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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BackgroundExtranodal natural killer T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with invariable infection of lymphoma cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and the presence of EBV-DNA in the blood is a well-known prognosticator. However, there is no consensus on which blood compartment is more optimal for predicting survival outcomes.MethodsWe analyzed 60 patients who were newly diagnosed with ENKTL from a prospectively collected database. EBV-DNA was measured in the whole-blood (WB) and plasma at the time of diagnosis and after treatment completion.ResultsEBV-DNA was detected in pre-treatment WB and plasma in 37 (61.7%) and 23 (38.3%) patients, respectively. The presence of pre-treatment plasma EBV-DNA was significantly associated with advanced stage while presence of WB EBV-DNA did not. Positivity of pre-treatment plasma-EBV, but not WB EBV-DNA, was independently associated with poor PFS (HR, 4.22;95% CI, 1.79–9.97; P=0.001) and OS (HR, 8.38; 95% CI, 3.03–23.19; P<0.001) in the multivariate analysis. After treatment completion, positivity of plasma-EBV was independently associated with poor PFS (HR, 9.41; 95% CI, 2.27–39.02; P=0.002) and OS (HR, 32.38; 95% CI, 3.25–322.56; P=0.003), whereas no significant association was observed between WB-EBV status and survival outcomes.ConclusionsOur results suggest that EBV-DNA in the plasma has better prognostic values than WB in patients with ENKTL.

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