Serum aspartate aminotransferase, a novel potential biomarker of prognosis in extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type.

Background: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), an indicator of liver cell damage, was related to the prognosis of certain malignant tumors.

Objective: This study examined the predictive value of AST in patients with extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL).

Methods: We reviewed 183 cases diagnosed with ENKTL and selected 26 U/L as the optimum cut-off value of AST. We used the univariate and multivariate Cox regression to compare the different AST groups' overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Results: Prior to propensity score matching (PSM), Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients in the low AST subgroup had better OS and PFS than the high AST subgroup. Multivariate analysis revealed that AST was an independent indicator for prognosis. After PSM, the low AST subgroup maintained a significantly better OS and PFS than the high AST subgroup.

Conclusion: AST might represent a significant prognostic marker for ENKTL patients.