Abstract
Lymph node enlargement is a common presentation and has a possibility of malignancy like lymphoma that requires early diagnosis. This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of these patients and finds out useful predictors of malignant diseases. We retrospectively investigated 81 patients with lymph node enlargement between July 2, 2014 and May 17, 2016. The characteristics and laboratory findings were evaluated combining with the final diagnosis. The diagnoses were malignancy in 51 patients and benign lymphadenopathy in 30 patients. Increased beta2-microglobulin (B2M) (P = 0.012) was found to be associated with malignant diseases, and level of 3699.5 μg/L was used as a cut-off value to differentiate the malignancies from benign diseases, offering 63.4% sensitivity and 87.0% specificity. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) (P = 0.038) levels were significantly lower in malignant group, whose receiver operating characteristic curve showed that level of 1121.5 mg/dl had sensitivity and specificity as 58.5% and 82.6%. Moreover, through analysis of cytokines, we found interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels were elevated in malignant group compared with benign group. Serum B2M and IgG levels were concluded to be useful parameters for predicting malignancies. Besides, increased IL-10 levels indicated a higher risk of malignancy in some way.
Highlights
Lymph node enlargement is a common problem in clinical settings, occurring in all ages
This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of these patients and finds out useful predictors of malignant diseases
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) (P = 0.038) levels were significantly lower in malignant group, whose receiver operating characteristic curve showed that level of 1121.5 mg/ dl had sensitivity and specificity as 58.5% and 82.6%
Summary
Lymph node enlargement is a common problem in clinical settings, occurring in all ages. Many diseases are associated with enlarged lymph nodes, such as infections, immune disorders, or malignancies [2]. The prevalence of malignancies was 11.5% among 11284 patients, and cancer risk was higher in males and the elderly [3]. Lymphoma, which usually presents with lymph node enlargement and fever, requires early and accurate diagnosis. Many factors including age of patients, associated signs and symptoms and the location of enlarged lymph nodes are involved with the final diagnosis. Lack of accurate blood biomarkers for initial diagnosis in patients with malignant lymph node enlargements still troubles physicians. We developed this study to find some blood biomarkers to assess cancer risk among patients diagnosed with lymph node enlargement
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