Correlations between peripheral absolute lymphocyte count and clinicopathological characteristics of the elderly patients with multiple myeloma and its prognosis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlations between peripheral absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and clinicopathological characteristics of newly diagnosed elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and its prognosis. Methods A total of 57 elderly patients with MM were selected in Wuxi People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2015. The patients were grouped as ALC≥1.3×109/L (n=24) and ALC<1.3×109/L (n=33). The ALC and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected. The chi-square test, rank sum test, Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Log-rank test were used to analyze the correlation of ALC with clinicopathological characteristics, curative effect and prognosis of elderly patients with MM. Results The peripheral ALC of elderly MM patients was related to hemoglobin content (χ2=6.915, P=0.009), but it was not related to the sex, age, Durie-Salmon stage, international staging system stage, creatinine content, lactate dehydrogenase content, albumin content, concentration of Ca2+ , performance status and classification (all P>0.05). There was no significant difference in efficacy between ALC≥1.3×109/L group and ALC<1.3×109/L group (Z=0.464, P=0.642). In univariate analysis, age (RR=2.843, 95%CI: 1.385-5.835, P=0.004), sex (RR=2.092, 95%CI: 1.034-4.231, P=0.040), ALC (RR=3.562, 95%CI: 1.539-8.244, P=0.003), hemoglobin content (RR=3.583, 95%CI: 1.087-11.811, P=0.036), lactate dehydrogenase content (RR=3.192, 95%CI: 1.580-6.452, P=0.001) and curative effect (RR=5.202, 95%CI: 1.184-22.864, P=0.029) were related to the prognosis of patients. Multivariate analysis results revealed that age (RR=2.672, 95%CI: 1.235-5.782, P=0.013) and ALC (RR=2.613, 95%CI: 1.092-6.250, P=0.031) were independent predictive factors for patients with MM. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the median overall survival of ALC≥1.3×109/L group was significantly longer than that of ALC<1.3×109/L group (69 months vs. 24 months; χ2=10.171, P=0.001). Conclusion The peripheral ALC in elderly patients with MM is related to hemoglobin content. ALC is an independent prognostic factor for the elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM, and has clinical value for the prognosis of MM. Key words: Aged; Multiple myeloma; Prognosis; Absolute lymphocyte count