ecancermedicalscience

Research

External validation of the International Prognostic Score (IPS-7) for classical Hodgkin lymphoma: a retrospective study from an Indonesian cohort

15 Jul 2026
Agus Jati Sunggoro, Felicia Renata, Garwita Anindya Restisa, Devina Ravelia Tiffany Subroto

Background: The International Prognostic Score (IPS-7) is widely used for risk stratification in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), but its applicability in low- and middle-income countries remains unclear. This study aimed to externally validate IPS-7 and assess its prognostic performance for overall survival (OS) in an Indonesian cohort.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients aged ≥15 years with histologically confirmed cHL across Ann Arbor stages I–IV, treated at a tertiary cancer referral centre between January 2019 and June 2022. IPS-7 was determined at diagnosis. OS at 1–3 years was estimated using Kaplan–Meier and compared across risk groups using the log-rank test. Univariate Cox regression evaluated each IPS-7 component, and model discrimination was assessed using Harrell’s C-index.

Results: Ninety-eight patients were analysed, with 34 events (34.7%). Median OS for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups was 42, 30, and 16 months, respectively. OS was 88%, 80%, and 74% at 1–3 years in the low-risk group; 70.5%, 67.4%, and 54.5% in the intermediate group; and 35.1% at 1 year in the high-risk group. Survival differed significantly among risk groups (log-rank p = 0.015). No single IPS-7 variable was significant on Cox analysis. Harrell’s C-index for IPS-7 in the overall cohort was 0.547 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.394–0.701), indicating poor to borderline discrimination. In an exploratory analysis, IPS-3 showed comparable performance, with a C-index of 0.590 (95% CI 0.326–0.855). In the advanced-stage subgroup (Ann Arbor stage III–IV), both IPS-7 and IPS-3 demonstrated moderate discriminative ability, with C-index of 0.605 (95% CI 0.445–0.765) and 0.603 (95% CI 0.423–0.783), respectively. Conclusion: IPS-7 significantly stratified OS, with limited discrimination in the overall mixed-stage cohort but modest performance in the advanced-stage subgroup, supporting its cautious use for baseline risk stratification in resource-limited settings.

Related Articles

Pablo Companys, Tomas Soule, Mariano Aymar, María Natalia Gandur Quiroga, Rosalía Hinojosa Altamirano, Marcelo Fogtman, Augusto Ferreyra Camacho, Rodrigo Sánchez, Gonzalo Taetti, Gabriela Gatica, Natalia Soto, María Elisa Arroyo, Nicolas Mainardi, Carolina Passarella, Andrea Marchioni, Ignacio Jerez, María Pía Domínguez, Emiliano Menna, Harold Somerville, Ernesto Korbenfeld, Florencia Sarru, Karina Peters, Iván Macharashvili, Federico Losco, Laura Pelagatti Santoni, Mauricio Fernández Lazaro, José Zarba, Mabel Gill, Juan Pablo Sade, Federico Cayol
Sandro Casavilca-Zambrano, Juan Contreras-Mancilla, Camille Laurent, Jaqueline Montoya, Rosdali Diaz-Coronado, Jorge Honles, Ruddy Liendo-Picoaga, Jenny Bonifacio-Mundaca, Jhoysi Casas-Goñas, Juan Pablo Cerapio, Carlos Barrionuevo, Tatiana Vidaurre, Stéphane Bertani