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. 2025 Aug 21;60(1):47.
doi: 10.1007/s44313-025-00095-1.

Real-world data on long-term outcomes in patients with T-cell lymphomas: a nationwide study of Korea

Dong Won Baek  1 , Jung Min Lee  1 , Youngeun Jang  1 , Yunji Lee  1 , Hee Jeong Cho  1 , Joon Ho Moon  1 , Hasung Kim  2 , Hoseob Kim  2 , Sang Kyun Sohn  3
Affiliations

Real-world data on long-term outcomes in patients with T-cell lymphomas: a nationwide study of Korea

Dong Won Baek et al. Blood Res. .

Abstract

Background: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are a rare and heterogeneous group of aggressive malignancies. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze patients diagnosed with PTCLs in Korea, evaluating treatment outcomes, including transplantation and long-term survival.

Patients and methods: In this retrospective study, clinical data from the National Health Insurance Service on patients with PTCL were investigated. Most patients diagnosed with mature T-cell lymphomas and natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphomas between January 2005 and December 2022 in Korea were included. Incidence rates of each subtype and survival outcomes of both treated and untreated patients were analyzed.

Results: A total of 12,573 patients were analyzed. PTCL not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) and extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma were the most frequently diagnosed, followed by angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Compared to the general population, the relative survival rate was highest in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma. With a median follow-up of 6.7 years, the 3-year and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates among treated patients were 44.0% and 39.5%, while the overall survival (OS) rates were 48.6% and 43.5%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that patients who added etoposide to the CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) regimen showed improved PFS and OS. In addition, autologous stem cell transplantation significantly improved PFS and OS, particularly in the PTCL-NOS and AITL subtypes.

Conclusion: Patients who received etoposide-containing CHOP-based regimens had improved treatment outcomes. The survival benefits of consolidative autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) were evident in PTCL-NOS and AITL.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Lymphoma; Stem cell transplantation; Survival; T-cell.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All procedures involving human participants in this study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, as well as the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Kaplan–Meier survival curves. PFS (A) and OS (B) of all patients based on transplantation; PFS (C) and OS (D) in patients with PTCL-NOS based on transplantation; PFS (E) and OS (F) in patients with AITL based on transplantation
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Comparison of PFS (A) and OS (B) between auto-SCT and allo-SCT in all patients; PFS (C) and OS (D) between auto-SCT and allo-SCT in patients with PTCL-NOS; PFS (E) and OS (F) between auto-SCT and allo-SCT in patients with AITL. Abbreviations: PFS, progression-free survival; OS, overall survival; AITL, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Patients who received etoposide in addition to the CHOP regimen showed statistically significantly improved PFS (A) and OS (B) compared to those treated with CHOP alone
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