Comparison of Hematologic and Other Prognostic Markers in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

The relationship between LDH and GLIM criteria for cancer cachexia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Cancer cachexia is a clinical condition characterized by recognizable "sickness behaviors" accompanied by loss of lean body tissue. The Global Leadership on Malnutrition (GLIM) has proposed phenotypic (unintentional weight loss, low body mass index and low muscle mass) and aetiologic (reduced food intake and inflammation or disease burden) diagnostic criteria. Recent work has suggested serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) might represent a 3rd aetiologic criteria. Little is known of its relationship with GLIM. A systematic review and meta-analysis of their comparative prognostic value and association was performed.

METHODS

A search of electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Ovid, Cochrane) up to February 2023 was used to identify studies that compared the prognostic value of LDH and components of the GLIM criteria in cancer. An analysis of the relationship between LDH and the components of GLIM was undertaken where this data was available. RevMan 5.4.1 was used to perform a meta-analysis for each diagnostic criteria that had 3 or more studies which reported hazard ratios with a 95 per cent confidence interval for overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

A total of 119 studies were reviewed. Advanced lung cancer was the most studied population. Included in the meta-analysis were 6 studies (n=2165) on LDH and weight loss, 17 studies (n=7540) on LDH and low BMI, 5 studies (n=758) on LDH and low muscle mass, 0 studies on LDH and food intake and 93 studies (n=32,190) on LDH and inflammation. There was a significant association between elevated serum LDH and each of low BMI (OR 1.39, 1.09 - 1.77; p=0.008), elevated NLR (OR 2.04, 1.57 - 2.65; p<0.00001) and elevated CRP (OR 2.58, 1.81 - 3.67; p<0.00001). There was no association between elevated serum LDH and low muscle mass. Only one study presented data on the association between LDH and unintentional weight loss. Elevated LDH showed a comparative OS (HR 1.86, 1.57 - 2.07; p<0.00001) to unintentional weight loss (HR 1.57, 1.23 - 1.99; p=0.0002) and had a similar OS (HR 2.00, 1.70 - 2.34; p<0.00001) to low BMI (HR 1.57, 1.29-2.90; p<0.0001). LDH also showed an OS (HR 2.25, 1.76 - 2.87; p<0.00001) congruous with low muscle mass (HR 1.93, 1.14 - 3.27; p=0.01) and again, LDH conferred as poor an OS (HR 1.77, 1.64-1.90; p<0.00001) as elevated NLR (HR 1.61, 1.48 - 1.77; p<0.00001) or CRP (HR 1.55, 1.43 - 1.69; p<0.00001).

CONCLUSION

Current literature suggests elevated serum LDH is associated with inflammation in cancer (an aetiologic GLIM criterion), however more work is required to establish the relationship between LDH and the phenotypic components of GLIM. Additionally, elevated serum LDH appears to be a comparative prognosticator of overall survival in cancer when compared to the GLIM criteria.

The clinical significance of systemic immune-inflammation index and platelet/neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in Guillain-Barré syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and platelet/neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (P/NLR) are two novel hematological inflammatory indices, this study invested the role of SII and P/NLR in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

METHODS

A total of 115 GBS patients and 120 healthy controls were enrolled in this retrospective study, SII and P/NLR were calculated from the value of complete blood counts. The Hughes Functional Grading Scale (HFGS) score on admission and at discharge was used to evaluate the severity and short-term outcome of GBS. The level of SII and P/NLR was compared between GBS patients and healthy controls, and the correlation between SII, P/NLR, and GBS's severity as well as poor short-term outcome was analyzed.

RESULTS

Increased SII (p < 0.001) and decreased P/NLR (p < 0.001) were observed in patients with GBS and the level of SII (p = 0.689) and P/NLR (p = 0.879) was not different between GBS subtypes. Patients with severe GBS and poor short-term outcomes had higher levels of SII and lower levels of P/NLR (p < 0.05), SII was positively correlated and P/NLR was negatively correlated with the HFGS score on admission and at discharge (p < 0.05). To predict severe GBS, the optimal cutoff value of SII was 620.87 (AUC0.633, sensitivity 60.8 % and specificity 60.9 %, p = 0.014), the optimal cutoff value of P/NLR was 53.11 (AUC0.635, sensitivity 45.1 %, specificity 82.8 %, p = 0.013). The SII level of 620.87 was found to be optimal predictive cutoff value for the poor short-term outcome of GBS (AUC 0.728, sensitivity of 82.6 %, specificity of 59.8 %, p = 0.001), the P/NLR level of 62.80 was found to be optimal predictive cutoff value for the poor short-term outcome of GBS (AUC 0.669, sensitivity 60.9 %, specificity 71.7 %, p = 0.012). Both SII>620.87 (p = 0.005) and P/NLR<53.11 (p = 0.002) were independent risk factors for severe GBS, and SII>620.87 (p = 0.035) was independently associated with the poor short-term outcome of GBS.

CONCLUSION

SII and P/NLR may be useful biomarkers to reflect GBS patients' severity and short-term outcome.

Presentation, Molecular Characteristics, Treatment, and Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer in Patients Older than 80 Years Old

Background: An increasing proportion of the population of patients with cancer presents at an advanced age, increasing the challenges of successful and well-tolerated treatments. In the older spectrum of the geriatric cancer patients, those older than 80 years old, challenges are even higher because of increasing comorbidities and decreasing organ function reserves. Methods: Studies regarding colorectal cancer presentation, treatment, and prognosis in patients older than 80 years old available in the literature were evaluated and were compiled within a narrative review. Molecular attributes of colorectal cancer in the subset of patients older than 80 years old in published genomic cohorts were also reviewed and were compared with similar attributes in younger patients. Results: Characteristics of colorectal cancer in octogenarians are in many aspects similar to younger patients, but patients older than 80 years old present more often with right colon cancers. Surgical treatment of colorectal cancer in selected patients over 80 years old is feasible and should be pursued. Adjuvant chemotherapy is under-utilized in this population. Although combination chemotherapy is in most cases not advisable, monotherapy with fluoropyrimidine derivatives is feasible and efficacious. Conclusions: Outcomes of colorectal cancer patients over the age of 80 years old may be optimized with a combination of standard treatments adjusted to the individual patient's functional status and organ reserves. Increased support for the older age group during their colorectal cancer treatment modalities would improve oncologic outcomes with decreasing adverse outcomes of therapies.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Trifluridine/Tipiracil plus Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Evidence from Real-World Series

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is the most prevalent gastrointestinal neoplasm. When metastatic, the disease has limited systemic treatment options. Novel targeted therapies have expanded these options for subsets with specific molecular alterations, such as microsatellite instability (MSI)-high cancers, but additional treatments and combinations are in urgent need to improve outcomes and improve survival of this incurable disease. The fluoropyrimidine-derivative trifluridine, in combination with tipiracil, has been introduced as a third-line treatment, and more recently, it was studied in combination with bevacizumab. This meta-analysis reports on studies with this combination in clinical practice outside clinical trials.

METHODS

A literature search in the Medline/PubMed and Embase databases was executed for finding series of trifluridine/tipiracil with bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer. Criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis were English or French language of the report, inclusion of twenty or more patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with trifluridine/tipiracil in combination with bevacizumab outside of a trial and containing information regarding response rates, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Information on the demographics of the patients and on adverse effects of treatment was also collected.

RESULTS

Eight series with a total of 437 patients were eligible for the meta-analysis. The performed meta-analysis discovered a summary response rate (RR) of 2.71% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-4.32%) and a disease control rate (DCR) of 59.63% (95% CI: 52.06-67.21%). Summary PFS was 4.56 months (95% CI: 3.57-5.55 months), and summary OS was 11.17 months (95% CI: 10.15-12.19 months). Common adverse effects identified mirrored the adverse-effect profile of the two components of the combination.

CONCLUSION

The current systematic review and meta-analysis reports the efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil with bevacizumab in advanced lines of therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer in the setting of clinical practice outside clinical trials. Discovery of predictive biomarkers of response to trifluridine/tipiracil with bevacizumab will promote the tailoring of this treatment to individual patients to maximize clinical benefit.

Role of Inflammatory Biomarkers (NLR, LMR, PLR) in the Prognostication of Malignancy in Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules

Indeterminate follicular thyroid lesions (Thyr 3A and 3B) account for 10% to 30% of all cytopathologic diagnoses, and their unpredictable behavior represents a hard clinical challenge. The possibility to preoperatively predict malignancy is largely advocated to establish a tailored surgery, preventing diagnostic thyroidectomy. We analyzed the role of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) as prognostic factors of malignancy for indeterminate thyroid nodules. In patients affected by cytological Thyr 3A/3B nodules, NLR, PLR and LMR were retrospectively compared and correlated with definitive pathology malignancy, utilizing student's t-test, ROC analysis and logistic regression. One-hundred and thirty-eight patients presented a Thyr 3A and 215 patients presented a Thyr 3B. After the logistic regression, in Thyr 3A, none of the variables were able to predict malignancy. In Thyr 3B, NLR prognosticated thyroid cancer with an AUC value of 0.685 (p < 0.0001) and a cut-off of 2.202. The NLR results were also similar when considering the overall cohort. The use of cytological risk stratification in addressing the management of indeterminate thyroid nodules in patients is not always reliable. NLR is an easy and reproducible inflammatory biomarker capable of improving the accuracy of preoperative prognostication of malignancy.

Potential impact of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Numerous studies have confirmed that inflammation promotes the occurrence, development and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Objective

This study focuses on the potentially prognostic value of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in CRC patients.

Data Sources

This study was registered at PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020219215). Relative studies were searched on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and clinical trial databases by two back-to-back reviewers. Study Selection and Intervention: Studies were screened according to the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, comparing prognosis differences between low PLR levels and high PLR levels for CRC patients. Main Outcome Measures: Studies were integrated and compared to analyze the value of PLR in predicting overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of CRC. Results: Outcomes were compared using Review Manager (version 5.4) software from Cochrane Collaboration. A total of 27 literary works, including 13,330 patients, were incorporated into our study. The final results showed that higher PLR levels had worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.21–1.62, P &lt; 0.00001), DFS (HR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.09–1.90, P = 0.01) and RFS (HR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.13–1.94, P = 0.005) than lower PLR levels, respectively. However, there was no evidence of significance for PFS (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.84–1.54, P = 0.40) and CSS (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.88–1.53, P = 0.28) in the final meta-analysis.

Limitations

Our study has the following limitations. First of all, we only included literature published in English, which means that some publication bias may be inevitable. In addition, our study used aggregate data, not individual data; furthermore, we did not define the exact cut-off value representing the PLR level.

Conclusion

An elevated PLR seems to be an adverse prognostic factor affecting survival outcomes in patients with CRC. Meanwhile, more prospective studies are required to confirm our conclusion.

PROSPERO ID: CRD42020219215.

Evaluation of LMR, NLR and PLR as predictors of malignancy in indeterminate thyroid nodules

Objective

Thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology represent 20% of all thyroid nodules. Inflammation plays an important role in cancer. Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are independent prognostic scores in numerous cancers, although no study has documented their role in cytology indeterminate nodules. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of LMR, NLR and PLR values as predictors of malignancy in patients with cytology indeterminate nodules.

Methods

This retrospective study analysed data from 298 patients with indeterminate thyroid nodule. Anatomopathological and haematological data were analysed, dividing the population into two groups. LMR, NLR and PLR values were determined using ROC curve and data were analysed using independent samples t-test, test of proportions, Fisher’s exact test and univariate and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

We found that a baseline LMR value ≥ 4.09 was indicative of benignity of indeterminate nodule. The probability of malignancy in patients with LMR < 4.09 was 26 times higher than patients with a LMR value ≥ 4.09.

Conclusions

This study showed that only LMR has shown a concrete probability to find a thyroid cancer in patients with indeterminate nodules. Further studies are necessary to implement tailored treatment.

Biomarkers of Trifluridine-Tipiracil Efficacy

Trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) is a newer generation chemotherapy that has been approved for the later-line treatment of metastatic colorectal and gastric/gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas. The oral drug provides a modest benefit of prolongation of survival over placebo in pretreated patients with these cancers with acceptable toxicity. Studies have shown rare objective responses (2-4%), and the disease control rates were 44% in both colorectal and gastric cancer randomized trials. Thus, the majority of patients progress through treatment and are burdened by toxicities. To better characterize the sub-group of patients with a higher probability of benefit from trifluridine/tipiracil, predictive biomarkers have been sought using data from randomized trials as well as from non-randomized trials and real-world series. Biomarkers examined include clinical characteristics of the patients, laboratory tests, and tumor derived biomarkers. These studies show that early neutropenia on treatment, and ratios of leukocyte subsets, are potential biomarkers able to predict trifluridine/tipiracil benefit. Combinations of laboratory values and clinical characteristics and proteins involved in trifluridine transport and activation have been examined with initial positive results.

The Ratio of Platelets to Lymphocytes Predicts the Prognosis of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has continued to increase. Although the overall prognosis of CRC has improved with the continuous improvement of the level of treatment, the prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is still poor. The purpose of our study is to explore the prognostic value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in mCRC.

METHODS

The PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase (via OVID) were systematically searched to obtain all relevant research. We used hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) to assess the associations of PLR and overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

A total of twelve studies containing 1452 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled analysis showed that high levels of PLR were associated with poor OS (HR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.27-2.33, and P < 0.01) and PFS (HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.16-2.31, and P = 0.033).

CONCLUSION

Our analysis suggested that high levels of PLR pretreatment may be an effective predictive biomarker for the prognosis of mCRC patients.

Clinical significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and prognostic nutritional index in low-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Objective

Inflammation and nutritional status play an important role in the prognosis of cancer. Lymphocyte-to monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) are independent prognostic scores in numerous cancers. However, any study showed their prognostic role in low-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). We aimed to clarify and identify the prognostic value of inflammation indices in low-risk DTC patients.

Methods

We analysed data from 116 patients, dividing the population into two groups, according to AJCC staging system (8^th edition). The LMR, NLR, PLR and PNI cut-off value were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Disease-free survival (DFS) was calculated with Kaplan-Meyer and Log-Rank tests and the risk of recurrence was calculated with univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Statistical significance was p < 0.05.

Results

We found a baseline NLR value ≥ 1.750 (75% sensitivity, 40.2% specificity) and a baseline LMR value of 3.83 (66.7% sensitivity, 48.9% specificity). Overall DFS was 74.995 ± 3.236 with a p value of 0.678. NLR showed a hazard ratio for recurrence with almost twice the risk of recurrence (Adjusted Hazard Ratio /HR^A): 1.828, p-value = 0.019).

Conclusions

NLR can be considered a prognostic score with twice the risk of recurrence in low-risk DTC patients with NLR < 1.750.

The prognostic utility of pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) in colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and systemic markers of inflammation are increasingly recognised as negative prognostic factors for clinical outcome. Neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is readily available from routine blood testing of patients diagnosed with cancer.

Methods

Peer‐reviewed publications from PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and EMBASE were identified according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival (OS) and surrogate endpoints (SE; comprising disease‐, recurrence‐ and progression‐free survival) were pooled using a random effects model. Additional analysis was carried out to further investigate NLR as an independent prognostic factor and account for heterogeneity.

Results

Seventy‐one eligible papers comprising 32,788 patients were identified. High NLR was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Significant publication bias was observed, and larger studies also adjusted for more covariates. Correcting for publication bias in multivariate studies brought our best estimate for true effect size to HR = 1.57 (95% CI 1.39–1.78; p < 0.0001) for OS and to HR = 1.38 (95% CI 1.16–1.64; p = 0.0003) for SE.

Conclusions

NLR is confirmed as an easily available prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer, despite the limitations of some studies previously reporting this finding. As such, it should be routinely collected in prospective clinical trials. While more standardised and rigorous large‐scale studies are needed before high NLR can be fully assessed as an independent predictor of CRC progression and outcome, the data suggest that it may be used to highlight individuals with tumour‐promoting inflammatory context.

Body composition among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer

Introduction

Nutritional status assessment is an important part of preoperative patient evaluation, but the standard anthropometric parameters do not appear to be adequate.

Aim

To determine the changes in the values of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters in patients 3 months after undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Material and methods

BIA and nutritional status assessment parameters were determined in 80 patients prior to undergoing surgery for CRC. The results 3 months after surgery for 64 of those patients were then compared with their initial assessments.

Results

According to standard WHO ranges, 54% of the patients were diagnosed as being overweight and 29% as obese. The percentage of patients categorized as obese amounted to 56% when this was defined as high fat mass. Moderate sarcopaenia, defined as a low skeletal muscle index (SMI) or low percentage of skeletal muscle mass, was diagnosed in 21% and 29% of patients, respectively. Patients with postoperative weakness that made it impossible for them to attend the control visit had a lower preoperative skeletal muscle mass (p = 0.01) and SMI value (p = 0.001). Parameters of BIA did not discriminate patients with postoperative complications, which occurred in 23% of individuals enrolled.

Conclusions

A significant proportion of the patients undergoing surgery for CRC were overweight or obese, which could mask the sarcopaenia that presented in 21–29% of them. Sarcopaenia was the only parameter predictive of a postoperative decrease in performance status.

Prognostic values of preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-related indices in advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prognostic values of preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and platelet-related indices in advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC).

METHODS

The data of 247 eligible advanced HPSCC patients were reviewed retrospectively. Pretreatment haematological parameters were categorised into two groups based on the result of X-tile, and several variates were assessed using chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier method, Cox univariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The optimal cut-off points of 171.4 for PLR, 260 × 10⁹ /L for platelet, 10.4 fL for mean platelet volume (MPV) and 16.5% for platelet distribution width were defined. The haematological parameters PLR and MPV, postoperative metastasis and internal jugular vein invasion were statistically significant in OS and DFS analyses (P < .05). The high PLR (>171.4) or high MPV (>10.4 fL) was significantly associated with worse OS and DFS (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

The preoperative levels of PLR and MPV could be considered as independent prognostic predictors in patients with advanced HPSCC.

Blood albumin as a prognostic factor among unselected medically treated inpatients

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prognostic value of blood albumin (BA) in an unselected population of inpatients. Materials & methods: We performed prospective analysis of the medical documentation of 7279 patients hospitalized between July 2014 and September 2017. Results: Individuals with BA ≥3.35 mg/dl had significantly lower risk of in-hospital death (odds ratio [OR]: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.19-0.27; p < 0.001) and 14-day readmission (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.55-0.77; p < 0.0001). BA concentration was the strongest favorable factor predicting inpatient survival in a Cox hazard regression model (OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.36-0.50; p < 0.001), did not correlate with body mass index and actual-to-ideal bodyweight ratio and was strongly affected by numerous non-nutrient factors. Conclusion: BA concentration showed similar or better predictive and diagnostic power in relation to all-cause in-hospital mortality and 14-day readmission among inpatients than selected multifactorial scores.

Preoperative albumin-to-globulin ratio as a significant prognostic indicator in urologic cancers: a meta-analysis

Background

Emerging studies reported that preoperative albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR) correlated with tumor progression and prognosis in several types of cancer. The aim of this study was to systematically explore the association between preoperative AGR and clinical outcomes in cancers of the urinary system.

Methods

Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Embase and Web of Science by two independent investigators from inception to June 1, 2018. Eligible studies were selected based on predetermined selection criteria. Summarized HRs or ORs and 95% CIs were calculated for prognosis and clinicopathologic features with the fixed-effects or random-effects models.

Results

Eight cohort studies comprising 2,668 patients were included for analysis. The pooled results showed that a low AGR significantly correlated with poor OS (HR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.27-0.48, P<0.001), worse cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.22-0.50, P<0.001) and inferior event-free survival (EFS) (HR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.25-0.48, P<0.001) in urologic cancers. In addition, patients in low and high AGR groups showed significant differences in lymphovascular invasion (P<0.001), pT status (P<0.001) and pN status (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Preoperative AGR might be a valuable, cheap and reproducible prognostic bio-marker in urologic cancers following surgical resection.