Blood-circulating EV-miRNAs, serum TARC, and quantitative FDG-PET features in classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Blood-based biomarkers are gaining interest for response evaluation in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). However, it is unknown how blood-based biomarkers relate to quantitative ¹⁸F-FDG-PET features. We correlated extracellular vesicle-associated miRNAs (EV-miRNA), serum TARC, and complete blood count (CBC) with PET features (e.g., metabolic tumor volume [MTV], dissemination and intensity features) in 30 cHL patients at baseline. EV-miR127-3p, EV-miR24-3p, sTARC, and several CBC parameters showed weak to strong correlations with MTV and dissemination features, but not with intensity features. Two other EV-miRNAs only showed weak correlations with PET features. Therefore, blood-based biomarkers may be complementary to PET features, which warrants further exploration of combining these biomarkers in prognostic models.