A revised staging system for natural killer/T cell lymphoma incorporating skull base invasion and nasal/non-nasal subtype distinction.

ABSTRACT: Current staging systems for natural killer/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL) inadequately reflect its predominantly extranodal presentation and lack prognostic accuracy in the asparaginase era. This retrospective multicenter study analyzes 1,872 newly diagnosed NKTCL patients treated with asparaginase-based regimens or radiotherapy alone, from 15 institutions across China. For nasal-type NKTCL, skull base invasion (SBI) is identified as an independent adverse prognostic factor. We reclassify Ann Arbor stage I patients with SBI as stage II and stage II patients with SBI as stage III. For non-nasal-type NKTCL, we retain the Chinese Southwest Oncology Group and Asia Lymphoma Study Group (CA) system due to its superior prognostic discrimination. The revised system demonstrates improved outcome predictio

SUBMITTER: Cao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12923967 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature