Childhood lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL) is a highly aggressive neoplasm which has achieved favorable survival outcomes in many developed countries. However, few studies have reported treatment outcomes of childhood LL in resource-limited counties, nor has a prognostic scoring system been developed. The objectives of this study were to evaluate survival outcomes and identify prognostic factors associated with inferior outcomes of childhood LL in a referral center in March 1985 and April 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Seventy-five advanced-stage LL patients were included, 47 (62.7%) of whom had stage IV at initial diagnosis. The 5-year DFS and OS rates were 44.6% and 44.7%, respectively. There were 3 significant prognostic factors associated with worse outcomes: presence of B symptoms, low albumin level < 3.5 g/dL and serum LDH level > 500 IU/L. From these three factors, we assigned a score of 1 for each and total scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 could predict 5-year OS rates of 92.3%, 50.9%, 24.7% and 0%, respectively (p < 0.05). The survival of children in this study was lower than in other studies of advanced-stage childhood LL. We identified 3 adverse prognostic factors and developed a prognostic model for clinical use in advanced-stage childhood LL.
Keywords: Childhood lymphoblastic lymphoma; prognostic factors; survival outcomes.