Serum sCD25/ferritin ratio combined with MCP-1 is a valid predictor for identifying LAHS with HLH as the first manifestation

Abstract

Purpose: Lymphoma-associated haemophagocytic syndrome (LAHS) is a group of malignant diseases with rapid progression and a high mortality rate. Our study aimed to discover the significance of serum sCD25/ferritin ratio as well as cytokines in assisting the diagnosis of LAHS.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 82 patients with LAHS with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) as the first manifestation and divided them into B-LAHS group and T/NK-LAHS group according to lymphoma pathological diagnosis for comparison. And patients with LAHS were divided into responding group, non-responding group according to the assessment of efficacy after receiving DEP/L-DEP induction therapy for 2 weeks to compare possible valuable indicators.

Results: Serum sCD25/ferritin ratio and MCP-1 levels were significantly different between B-LAHS and T/NK-LAHS groups (P = 0.001, P = 0.022). An sCD25/ferritin ratio > 7.8 tended to suggest a diagnosis of B-LAHS (AUC = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.596-0.823), and the sCD25/ferritin ratio had better predictive value when combined with MCP-1 (AUC = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.699-0.922). The sCD25/ferritin ratio was also significantly different between the two groups responding or not responding to induction therapy (P = 0.002), yielding an optimal cutoff value of 11.48. An sCD25/ferritin ratio > 11.48 tended to suggest that the patient's LAHS was responsive to induction therapy.

Conclusion: Our study reveals that serum sCD25/ferritin ratio combined with MCP-1 is a valid predictor for identifying LAHS with HLH as the first manifestation and may assist in predicting whether the lymphoma is of B-cell or T/NK-cell origin. The sCD25/ferritin ratio can also be used to predict the early response of LAHS after induction therapy.

Keywords: Cytokine; Diagnosis; Ferritin; Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; Non-Hodgkin lymphoma; sCD25.