Prognostic value of pretreatment plasma D-dimer levels in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL)

Background. We assessed the prognostic significance of D-dimer in patients of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: We performed a retrospective study including 254 patients who were newly diagnosed DLBCL. X-tile was used to generate a cutoff value for D-dimer. Both univariate screen by Cox proportional hazard model and multivariable analysis by Cox regression model were used to assess the impact of pretreatment D-dimer levels on the overall survival (OS). Result: According to X-tile, the optimal cut-off value of D-dimer for prediction of survival was set as 1.6 mu g/mL, and a D-dimer level >= 1.6 mu g/mL was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) (OS: 31.7 vs. 79.1%, P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, it was found that a higher D-dimer level was an independent predictor for worse OS (Hazard ratio (HR): 3.594 95% Confidence interval (CI): 2.296-5.267, P < 0.001). In subgroup analysis of International Prognostic Index (IPI), survival of low-risk and intermediate-risk group with a D-dimer level >= 1.6 mu g/mL were both similar to that of the high-risk group (OS: 31.6 vs. 36.5%, P = 0.957; OS: 38.0 vs. 36.5%, P = 0.758). In addition, among patients treated with surgery, those with higher D-dimer had substantially worse survival than that with lower D-dimer (OS: 27.0 vs. 84.5%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Pretreatment D-dimer is a simple but effective predictor of survival among patients with DLBCL.