Peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Clinico-pathologic study of 168 cases diagnosed according to the R.E.A.L. Classification

Background: One hundred sixty-eight peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs)were reviewed according to the Revised European–American Lymphoma (R.E.A.L.)Classification.Patients and methods: The cases, originally diagnosed on the basis of theUpdated Kiel Classification (UKC), were all provided with histologicalpreparations, immunophenotype, clinical information, and follow-up data. Theslides were reclassified by five observers, who integrated the R.E.A.Lcriteria with cell size measurements. The prognostic value of clinical andpathologic findings was assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: The R.E.A.L. Classification was reproducibly applied by all of theobservers. Clinically, anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs) differed fromthe remaining PTCLs by mean age (29.5 vs. 52.9 years), bulky disease(52.3% vs. 11.3%; P = 0.000), mediastinal mass (52.7% vs.32%; P = 0.004), and disease-free survival (68.0% vs.38.2%; P = 0.0001). Although each histological type displayed specificclinical aspects, PTCLs other than ALCL were basically characterised by a poorclinical outcome which was not influenced by the UKC malignancy grade. Atmultivariate analysis, the risk of a lower complete remission rate was relatedto bulky disease (P = 0.001), histologic group (non-ALCL) (P = 0.01), andadvanced stage (III–IV) (P = 0.0002).Conclusions: The present study supports the classification of T-celllymphomas proposed by the R.E.A.L. scheme.