A study documenting peripheral T-cell lymphoma epidemiology across Latin America found a high prevalence of adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma and extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma in the region.
The results, published in The Lancet Haematology, represent the first attempt to characterize the epidemiology across Latin America of peripheral T-cell lymphomas, a rare and heterogeneous group of mature T-cell neoplasms characterized by aggressive behavior.
The retrospective study covered adult patients with newly diagnosed peripheral T-cell lymphoma across 11 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Subtype distribution analysis
The subtype distribution analysis covered 1,979 patients diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphoma by pathology between 2000 and 2023. The most common subtype was peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (688 [35%] of 1979 patients). The next three most frequent subtypes were adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma (333 [17%] of 1979 patients), extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma (291 [15%] of 1979 patients), and ALK-negative anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma (186 [9%] of 1979 patients).
The treatment and outcome analysis covered 1,349 patients. The results showed that the use of CHOEP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, etoposide, vincristine, and prednisone) or EPOCH (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin) was associated with superior three-year overall survival compared with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) among patients with ALK-negative anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma (20 deaths; 67%, 95% CI 56–81 vs 16 deaths; 41%, 26–65; P=0.018) and adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma (45 deaths; 20%, 11–38 vs 100 deaths; 18%, 12–27; P=0.0087), but not for all other subtypes.
“Our study underscores the unique epidemiological profile of peripheral T-cell lymphoma in Latin America, with a high prevalence of adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma and extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma,” the researchers wrote. “These findings present a crucial opportunity to prioritize clinical trials on these rare subtypes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma by integrating Latin American countries into global research.”
Reference
Malpica L, Idrobo H, Pavlovsky A, et al. Epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma in Latin America: an international, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Haematol. 2025. doi:10.1016/S2352-3026(25)00011-0
