Transient adrenal insufficiency in diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients after chemotherapy with short-course, high-dose corticosteroids

Data on the rate of adrenal insufficiency (AI) in patients receiving short-course and high-dose corticosteroids are limited. In this study, we aimed to determine the incidence of AI in newly diagnosed, diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients after receiving rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone [or prednisolone] (R-CHOP/CHOP) regimen. We enrolled newly diagnosed DLBCL patients who were scheduled to receive 6–8 cycles of R-CHOP/CHOP regimen. One-microgram adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation tests were performed at the study entry and 3 weeks after each cycle of chemotherapy (CMT). AI was defined by a peak-stimulated serum cortisol of less than 18 μg/dL. For patients who had AI after completing a course of CMT, 1-μg ACTH stimulation tests were carried out at 60 and 90 days after the last CMT cycle to assess the duration of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis recovery. Ten DLBCL patients were included in this study, with a total of 84 1-μg ACTH stimulation tests. Their mean age was 52 years. AI occurred in 3 out of the 10 patients (30%). The first occurrence of AI was after the third CMT cycle, and the incidence was highest after the fifth cycle. Adrenal function recovered completely 3 to 5 weeks after completing the course of CMT, except for 1 patient, whose HPA axis suppression persisted 90 days after the last CMT cycle. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that a basal cortisol level of < 8.7 μg/dL was predictive of AI, with a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 72.2%, respectively. Transient HPA axis suppression can occur in DLBCL patients receiving R-CHOP/CHOP regimen. We strongly encourage careful observation and examination for potential adrenal insufficiency in such patients, particularly after the fifth cycle of chemotherapy.