Serum-soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) is an extremely strong prognostic factor for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified (PTCL-U).

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic factors of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified (PTCL-U). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 30 cases fulfilling the criteria of PTCL-U defined by the World Health Organization classification. The patients were treated with 6-8 cycles of a CHOP or THP (pirarubicin)-COP regimen. RESULTS: A high serum sIL-2R level (> or =2,000 U/ml) at onset was associated with a low complete remission rate. Patients with high sIL-2R had significantly lower survival rates (5 year, 15.1%) than those with low sIL-2R (<2,000 U/ml) (100%) (P < 0.005). Factors associated with worse overall survival in a univariate analysis were high sIL-2R (P < 0.005), high age (>60 years) (P < 0.05), poor performance status (P < 0.01) and poor international prognostic index (P < 0.05). No correlation was observed between sIL-2R and other markers. Multivariate analysis showed that only sIL-2R was a prognostic factor for overall survival (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that a high serum sIL-2R level predicts a poor prognosis in PTCL-U.