Prognostic relevance of clinical risk factors in mantle cell lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has only recently been recognized as a separate biologically defined lymphoma entity. Due to its low incidence, many reports on clinical prognostic factors are limited by small patient numbers. The MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI) was developed using data of more than 400 patients treated within randomized trials of the European MCL Network. Based on the routinely available clinical prognostic factors age, performance status, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and white blood cell count, three MIPI risk groups were defined with different survival. The MIPI has been externally validated by several independent groups. It therefore may be used to report and compare risk profiles of MCL patient groups, to stratify randomization in clinical trials, to perform risk adjustment in epidemiological studies, and it might be implemented into risk-adapted treatment strategies.