New publication in the International Journal of Cancer

In this study, researchers used Swedish register data to examine how the timing of disease progression affects survival outcomes in mantle cell lymphoma patients. The investigation included 1,186 adult MCL patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2018, offering insights into real-world survival patterns across various treatment approaches.

The study employed an illness-death model to analyse progression as part of a continuous disease trajectory rather than applying traditional fixed time cut-offs. This methodology allowed researchers to compare all patients on the same time scale regardless of when progression occurred, avoiding data exclusion. The illness-death model represents disease progression through three transitions: diagnosis to progression, diagnosis to death without prior progression, and progression to death.

Key findings indicate that progression timing has a continuous and clinically meaningful effect on survival in MCL also beyond the commonly used 24-month cut-off. The research suggests that understanding the entire disease trajectory rather than relying on fixed cut-off points may improve both patient prognostication and study design methodology.