Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of stage I and stage III/IV patients included for analysis in the study
| Characteristic | Stage I | Stage III/IV | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 82) | (n = 139) | ||
| Age at diagnosis | 58 | 57 | .96* |
| Median (range), Y | (28-85) | (27-95) | |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 32 (39%) | 62 (45%) | .42† |
| Male | 50 (61%) | 77 (55%) | |
| B-symptoms | <.001† | ||
| Present | 5 (6%) | 41 (30%) | |
| Absent | 77 (94%) | 97 (69%) | |
| Missing | – | 1 (1%) | |
| FLIPI risk categories | <.001† | ||
| Low | 68 (83%) | – | |
| Intermediate | 6 (7%) | 53 (38%) | |
| High | – | 77 (55%) | |
| Missing | 8 (10%) | 9 (7%) | |
| Hemoglobin | .002† | ||
| <12 g/L | 2 (2%) | 26 (19%) | |
| ≥12 g/L | 78 (95%) | 111 (80%) | |
| Missing | 2 (2%) | 2 (1%) | |
| Elevated lactate dehydrogenase | <.001† | ||
| Yes | 6 (7%) | 44 (32%) | |
| No | 71 (87%) | 94 (67%) | |
| Missing | 5 (6%) | 1 (1%) | |
| Stage | |||
| I | 82 (100%) | – | |
| III | – | 38 (27%) | |
| IV | – | 101 (73%) | |
| Bulky disease | |||
| <7 cm | 82 (100%) | 96 (69%) | |
| ≥7 cm | – | 38 (27%) | |
| Missing | – | 5 (4%) | |
| ECOG performance status | |||
| <2 | 81 (99%) | 128 (93%) | |
| ≥2 | – | 10 (7%) | |
| Missing | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | |
| Bone marrow involvement | |||
| Yes | – | 83 (60%) | |
| No | 82 (100%) | 49 (35%) | |
| Missing | – | 7 (5%) | |
| No. of involved nodal sites, median (range) | 1 (1-1) | 8 (5-14) | |
| First-line therapy | |||
| R-chemotherapy | 2 (2%) | 117 (84%) | |
| Chemotherapy | – | 5 (4%) | |
| IFRT | 38 (46%) | ||
| IFRT + TBI | 14 (17%) | ||
| IFRT + R | 23 (28%) | ||
| Watch and wait | – | 3 (2%) | |
| Other | 1 (1%)‡ | – | |
| Unknown | 4 (5%)§ | 14 (10%) | |
ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; FLIPI, Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index; IFRT, involved-field radiotherapy; PS, performance score; R, rituximab; TBI, total body irradiation.
*
P value per Mann-Whitney testing.
†
P value per χ2 testing.
‡
Surgical removal.
§
IFRT without knowing if the patient received TBI or not.