Identification of the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio as a prognostic biomarker and development of an immune-related prognostic model in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

作者：Pan Zhou, Yunmeng Zhou, Yang Liu, Chao Liu, Suqiong Zuo, Xiaohang Pei, Rongjun Ma, Yuqing Chen, Zunmin Zhu, Xiaoli Yuan · 发表于：BMC Cancer · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12885-025-14737-1 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment、CAR-T cell therapy research、Cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders research

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a highly heterogeneous B-cell malignancy influenced by immune dysregulation, posing significant clinical challenges. Lymphocyte subsets (e.g., CD4 + T helper 1/ T helper 2 cells) and their cytokines (IFN-γ/IL-4) are readily measurable immune markers involved in DLBCL pathogenesis and may independently predict prognosis. However, the prognostic value of these two combined clinical laboratory findings in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients remains uninvestigated. METHOD: Here, we retrospectively analyzed 94 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients treated at our institution between 2017 and 2023. The prognostic influences of lymphocyte subsets, cytokines levels and other factors on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were studied by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression (univariate/multivariate). Then we constructed an immune-related prognostic score model (IRPS) and validated it in another independent cohort. RESULTS: The results suggested that a high IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio and elevated CD4 + T cell count were favorable risk variables for both PFS and OS in DLBCL patients. Besides, multivariate analysis showed that age was marginally associated with the worse OS whereas low CD8 + T cell count was associated with the inferior PFS. Moreover, elevated pretreatment IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio was significantly correlated with better clinical response efficacy. Compared to those treatment-responsive patients, lower level of IFN-γ/IL-4 r...