Clinical features and prognostic analysis of the blastoid variant of mantle cell lymphoma: An analysis of 20 patients from two centers

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 20 patients admitted to two hospitals between 2012 and 2020. These patients were diagnosed with the blastoid variant of mantle cell lymphoma (BV-MCL) based on lymph node pathology and immunohistochemistry findings, with 15 having the classic BV and five with the pleomorphic BV-MCL. Nine patients (45.0%) had a Ki-67 index ≥80%, while another nine patients (45.0%) had a Ki-67 index between 60% and 79%, and two patients (10.0%) had a Ki-67 index between 30% and 59%. The median follow-up time was 24.0 months (range, 11.6–93.2 months). The objective response rate was 80.0%, with 10 patients (50.0%) experiencing relapse. The median overall survival (OS) time was 24.0 months, with a 2-year OS rate of 55.0%. Among the 16 patients with assessable progression-free survival (PFS), the median PFS was 20.6 months, and the 2-year PFS rate was 30.1%. BV-MCL is an aggressive subtype of mantle cell lymphoma characterized by rapid progression, an elevated Ki-67 proliferation index, and a high recurrence rate. These patients exhibited shorter survival times and poorer overall prognoses.