Table 1.
Baseline characteristics before initiation of conditioning therapy and association with use of corticosteroids
| Median [range] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 100) | No corticosteroids (n = 40) | Corticosteroids (n = 60) | P | |
| DLBCL/HGBCL, N (%) | 77 (77) | 26 (65) | 51 (85) | .03 |
| Age, y | 60 [18-85] | 61 [28-74] | 60 [18-85] | .91 |
| Male, N (%) | 74 (74) | 33 (83) | 41 (68) | .16 |
| ECOG performance status >0, N (%) | 69 (69) | 23 (58) | 46 (77) | .05 |
| Ann Arbor stage III-IV, N (%) | 84 (84) | 35 (88) | 49 (82) | .58 |
| Bone marrow involvement, N (%) | 22 (22) | 11 (28) | 11 (18) | .33 |
| IPI score 3-4, N (%) | 55 (55) | 22 (55) | 33 (55) | 1 |
| Absolute neutrophil count, 109/L | 2.8 [0-20] | 2.8 [0-19.7] | 2.9 [0.4-17.5] | .96 |
| Absolute lymphocyte count, 109/L | 0.6 [0-2] | 0.7 [0-2.2] | 0.5 [0-1.7] | .45 |
| Absolute monocyte count, 109/L | 0.5 [0.02-2] | 0.6 [0.1-1.9] | 0.4 [0.1-2] | .15 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 10 [5-16] | 10.8 [7.3-16.5] | 10.1 [5.4-15.9] | .06 |
| Platelet count, 109/L | 141 [9-391] | 136 [9-370] | 143 [9-391] | .87 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 33 [0.3-284] | 13.2 [0.7-114] | 37 [0.3-284] | .43 |
| Ferritin, mg/L | 812 [13-38,964] | 684 [36-2658] | 850 [13-38,964] | .65 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase > ULN, N (%) | 74 (74) | 26 (65) | 48 (80) | .11 |
| Creatinine clearance, mL/min | 84 [35-152] | 86 [36-135] | 84 [35-152] | .81 |
| Previous therapies, no. | 4 [2-15] | 5 [2-15] | 4 [2-11] | .07 |
| Refractory disease, N (%) | 89 (89) | 37 (93) | 52 (87) | .52 |
| Previous autologous SCT, N (%) | 29 (29) | 13 (33) | 16 (27) | .65 |
| Previous CAR T therapy, N (%) | 5 (5) | 4 (10) | 1 (2) | .15 |
| Prior CNS lymphoma, N (%) | 8 (8) | 1 (3) | 7 (12) | .14 |
Only 1 patient had a previous allogeneic SCT. DLBCL/HGBCL was compared with transformed follicular lymphoma and/or primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. Bold indicates statistically significant (P ≤ .05).
CAR, chimeric antigen receptor; CNS, central nervous system; DLBCL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; ECOG, European Cooperative Oncology Group; HGBCL, high grade B-cell lymphoma; IPI, international prognostic index; SCT, stem cell transplant; ULN, upper limit of normal.