Prognostic value of absolute lymphocyte count

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REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY (ASCO) ANNUAL MEETING, CHICAGO, IL, JUNE 3-7, 2011 - A retrospective U.S. analysis reports that low peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte (ALC) count is associated with higher nuclear grade, pathologic stage, presence of metastases and inferior OS in clear-cell RCC patients (Saroha et al. J Clin Oncol 2011; 29(suppl): abstract 4641).

Blood samples were obtained in 516 subjects (median age 60 years) scheduled for nephrectomy for clear-cell RCC. Patients were stratified by ALC value ( 1,300/µL) and analysed according to tumour grade, tumour and TNM stage and presence of distant metastases. Low ALC as a continuous variable and with a 1,300/µL cutoff value was associated with a significantly higher nuclear grade, higher tumour stage and higher TNM stage, and with the presence of distant metastases. Low ALC was also associated with a significantly worse overall survival independent of TNM stage.

This is the first report of ALC being prognostic of poorer OS. Previous studies have suggested that ALC may be correlated with the objective response rate in mRCC treated with interleukin-2 (Donskov et al. Br J Cancer 2002; 87: 194-201; free full text here).