Developing the POTOMAC Model: A Novel Prediction Model to Study the Impact of Lymphopenia Kinetics on Survival Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Via an Ensemble Tree-Based Machine Learning Approach.

Purpose: Lymphopenia is associated with poor survival outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), yet there is no consensus on whether we should limit lymphopenia risks during treatment. To fully elucidate the prognostic role of baseline versus treatment-related lymphopenia, a robust analysis is necessary to investigate the relative importance of various lymphopenia metrics (LMs) in predicting survival outcomes.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 363 patients were eligible for analysis (patients with newly diagnosed, nonmetastatic HNSCC treated with neck radiation with or without chemotherapy in 2015-2019).