Unfavorable early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma: assessment of patient characteristics in a real-world setting

Aim: Unfavorable prognostic factors among classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) patients in the real-world setting have yet to be fully characterized. Methods: In this retrospective study using the ConcertAI Oncology Dataset, patient characteristics, unfavorable prognostic factors and treatment patterns were evaluated among patients diagnosed with cHL. Results: Among 324 adult cHL patients diagnosed 2016-2021, 16.1% were classified as early favorable, 32.7% early unfavorable and 51.2% advanced disease. Early unfavorable patients were younger and had a larger nodal mass. The prognostic factor B symptoms was most frequently documented in early unfavorable patients (59.4%), followed by bulky disease (46.2%), >3 involved lymph node regions (31.1%), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate >= 50 (25.5%). Conclusion: In this analysis of real-world data, we found that nearly a third of newly diagnosed cHL patients had early unfavorable disease. Our analysis also showed differences in the proportion of patients for each unfavorable factor among patients with early-stage unfavorable cHL. Plain language summary - Assessment of risk factors in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma in a real-world setting What is this article about?Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops when white blood cells grow out of control. This study looked at a certain type of lymphoma called classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Patients with cHL are put into groups based on risk factors. Risk factors mean the cancer had certain characteristics that make it more likely to spread to other body parts and more difficult to treat. These can be symptoms like drenching night sweats, unexplained fever, sudden weight loss, or large swellings of the infection fighting glands of the body. What did we do?We studied the risk factors of patients with cHL, using data from electronic medical records. What were the results?About a third of the patients in this study had early stage cHL with unfavorable risk factors, and over half of the patients had advanced stage cHL. The patients who had early stage cHL with unfavorable risk factors were younger and had a larger lump in a lymph node. More than half of the patients experienced drenching night sweats, unexplained fever, or weight loss of more than 10%. What do the results mean?We found that nearly a third of new cHL patients had early-stage cHL with unfavorable risk factors. We also showed differences in the number of patients with each unfavorable risk factor among patients with early-stage unfavorable cHL. This study can help doctors and researchers group patients and determine the best treatment or research study for patients who have cHL.