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. 2012 Oct;30(8):571-6.
doi: 10.3109/07357907.2012.700987. Epub 2012 Jul 19.

The association between treatment-related lymphopenia and survival in newly diagnosed patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

Ani Balmanoukian  1 , Xiaobu Ye, Joseph Herman, Daniel Laheru, Stuart A Grossman
Affiliations

The association between treatment-related lymphopenia and survival in newly diagnosed patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

Ani Balmanoukian et al. Cancer Invest. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Fifty-three patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma were studied to determine if adjuvant chemo-radiation causes severe lymphopenia and if this is associated with adverse outcomes. Total lymphocyte counts (TLC) were normal in 91% before adjuvant chemo-radiation. Two months later, TLC fell by 63% (p < .0001) with 45% of patients having TLC < 500 cells/mm(3). Median survival in patients with low TLC was 14 versus 20 months (p = .048). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between treatment related lymphopenia and survival (HR 2.2, p = .014). Adjuvant chemo-radiation induced lymphopenia is frequent, severe, and an independent predictor for survival in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The authors report no conflicts of interest. This study was conducted without financial support from pharmaceutical companies. The authors had no assistance in writing this manuscript and there are no potential conflicts of interests by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total lymphocyte counts (TLC) over time.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier survival curves for patients with total lymphocyte counts (TLC) above and below 500 cells/mm3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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