Real‐world treatment and outcome patterns of patients with mantle cell lymphoma in China: A large, multicenter retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an uncommon heterogeneous subtype of B cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, and clinical features in MCL appear regional characteristics. MCL treatment opinions are not uniform between countries or regions within Asia and China, and Asian patient‐specific data for MCL treatment are fewer. The study aims to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and prognosis of MCL patients in China. METHODS: A total of 805 patients diagnosed with MCL between April 1999 and December 2019 at 19 comprehensive hospitals in China were included in this retrospective analysis. Kaplan‐Meier method coupled with the log‐rank test was used for univariate analysis, and COX proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis (MVA). p < 0.05 was consided statistically significant. All outputs were produced using R version 4.1.0. RESULTS: The median age of the cohort was 60.0 years with a male‐to‐female ratio of 3.36:1. Five‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 30.9% and 65.0%, respectively. High‐intermediate/high‐risk group according to MIPI‐c, without high‐dose cytarabine, lack of Auto‐SCT as consolidation and maintenance treatment and SD/PD in initial treatment remained statistically relevant to poor PFS on MVA, and ki67 ≥50%, B symptoms, high‐intermediate/high risk group according to MIPI‐c, without high‐dose cytarabine, lack of maintenance treatment, SD/PD in initial treatment and relapse/refractory state were independently associated with poorer OS on MVA. CONCLUSIONS: First‐line high dose cytarabine exposure, auto‐SCT as consolidation therapy obtained survival benefits in Chinese population. Our study further confirmed the value of maintenance treatment and explored the application of new drug treatment and bendamustine in R/R MCL patients.