T-Cell Lymphoma Prognosis

T-cell lymphoma originates in the T-lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell. It is a form on Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Prognosis will depend on many factors, including the stage of the disease and the patient's age.

Considerations

• Several types of T-cell lymphoma exist, and statistics are only available for NHL. Your doctor will take many things into account when determining prognosis, which includes the type of T-cell lymphoma the patient has and many other factors.

Good Prognostic Factors

• Certain factors improve the outlook of surviving T-cell lymphoma. They include being under 60, having stage one or two cancer, lymph node involvement that is non-existent or limited to one node, a good PS (performance status), which indicates the ability to perform daily activities, and a normal level of LDH, a serum whose levels indicate how quickly a tumor is growing.

Poor Prognostic Factors

• Certain factors result in a poorer prognosis. These include being over age 60, having stage three or four cancer, having more than one lymph node involved, poor PS and high levels of LDH.

Survival Rates

• Doctors use these prognostic factors to offer a prognosis. Poor prognostic factors each have a value of one point. Those in the lowest group (one or no factors) have a five-year survival rate of 75 percent, while those in the highest risk group (four or five factors) had a five-year survival of only 30 percent.

Follicular Lymphoma

• If the T-cell lymphoma affects the follicles, it indicates a much slower-growing cancer, and therefore the above criteria do not apply. Factors that lead to a poorer prognosis in this case include being over age 60, having stage three or four cancer, blood hemoglobin levels below 12g/dL and elevated LDH levels. The five-year survival rate for one or no factors is 91 percent; for two factors 78 percent; and for three or more factors it is 53 percent.