Immunohistochemistry for c-MET, HLA class II, and CD68 does not show prognostic value in early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma patients in the EORTC-GELA H9 intergroup randomised trial

In classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), identifying high-risk patients is crucial for tailored treatment. Clinical risk factors are useful, but there is room for improvement. Although many diagnostic tissue-based biomarkers have been described to correlate with prognosis, none have achieved the accuracy to be included into daily clinical practice.

The most promising tissue biomarkers, c-MET, HLA class II, and CD68, were tested in early-stage cHL for prognostic validation, individually and in combination with each other and established clinical risk factors. All biomarkers were assessed by immunohistochemistry in diagnostic tissue of patients included in the EORTC-GELA H9 trial. A case-cohort design was used, with progression-free survival (PFS) as the primary endpoint (n = 257; 105 PFS events). Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression models with Barlow weighting to account for the case-cohort structure.