The role of the systemic inflammatory response in predicting outcomes in patients with operable cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2017;7:16717. [PMID: 29196718 PMCID: PMC5711862 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16955-5]

Prognostic Value of Systemic Inflammatory Response in Lymph Node-Negative Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of systematic inflammatory response in patients with lymph node-negative colorectal cancer.

METHODS

We retrospectively investigated 245 patients with lymph node-negative colorectal cancer who underwent curative resection and evaluated the prognostic impact of systematic inflammatory response, which was represented by neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR). Then, the prognostic significance of the systematic inflammatory response on survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method in patients selected by propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

RESULTS

In the multivariate analysis, CAR ≥ .081 (P = .004) was independent predictors of disease-free survival, while American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status ≥3 (P = .049) and CAR ≥ .081 (P < .001) were independent predictors of overall survival. By PSM analysis, PSM-high-CAR was significantly associated with worse disease-free survival (P = .043) and overall survival (P = .041) in patients with lymph node-negative colorectal cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio may be a significant indicator of poor long-term outcomes in patients with lymph node-negative colorectal cancer.

Prioritising primary care patients with unexpected weight loss for cancer investigation: diagnostic accuracy study (update)

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the predictive value of unexpected weight loss for cancer according to patient's age, sex, smoking status, and concurrent clinical features (symptoms, signs, and abnormal blood test results).

DESIGN

Diagnostic accuracy study (update).

SETTING

Data from Clinical Practice Research Datalink electronic health records linked to the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service in primary care, England.

PARTICIPANTS

326 240 adults (≥18 years) with a code for unexpected weight loss from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2019.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Cancer diagnosis in the six months after the earliest weight loss code (index date). Codes for additional clinical features were identified in the three months before to one month after the index date. Diagnostic accuracy measures included positive and negative likelihood ratios, positive predictive values, and diagnostic odds ratios.

RESULTS

Of 326 240 adults with unexpected weight loss, 184 270 (56.5%) were women, 176 508 (54.1%) were aged ≥60 years, and 176 053 (54.0%) were ever smokers. 15 624 (4.8%) had a diagnosis of cancer within six months of the index date, of whom 15 051 (96.3%) were aged ≥50 years. The positive predictive value for cancer was above the 3% threshold recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for urgent investigation in men aged ≥50 years and women aged ≥60 years. 17 additional clinical features were associated with cancer in younger men with unexpected weight loss, and eight in women. Positive likelihood ratios in men ranged from 1.43 (95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.58) for fatigue to 21.00 (8.59 to 51.37) for rectal mass, and in women from 1.28 (1.16 to 1.41) for back pain to 19.46 (12.69 to 29.85) for pelvic mass. Abnormal blood test results associated with cancer included low albumin (positive likelihood ratio 3.24, 3.13 to 3.35) and raised platelets (3.48, 3.35 to 3.62), total white cell count (3.01, 2.89 to 3.14), and C reactive protein (3.13, 3.05 to 3.20). However, no normal blood test result in isolation ruled out cancer. Clinical features co-occurring with unexpected weight loss were associated with multiple cancer sites.

CONCLUSION

The risk of cancer in younger adults with unexpected weight loss presenting to primary care is <3% and does not merit investigation under current UK guidelines. However, in men aged ≥50 years, women aged ≥60 years, and younger patients with concurrent clinical features, the risk of cancer warrants referral for invasive investigation. Clinical features typically associated with specific cancer sites are markers of several cancer types when they occur with unexpected weight loss.

READERS' NOTE

This article is an updated version of a previously published BMJ paper that has since been retracted.

Association of Glasgow Prognostic Score with frailty, mortality and adverse health outcomes in older patients with cancer: A prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION

To balance benefits and risks of cancer treatment in older patients, prognostic information is needed. The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), composed of albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP), might provide such information. This study first aims to investigate the association between GPS and frailty, functional decline, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) decline as indicators of health problems in older patients with cancer. The second aim is to study the predictive value of GPS for mortality, in addition to clinical predictors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This prospective cohort study included patients aged ≥70 years with a solid malignant tumor who underwent a geriatric assessment and blood sampling before treatment initiation. GPS was calculated using serum albumin and CRP measured in batch, categorized into normal (0) and abnormal GPS (1-2). Outcomes were all-cause mortality and a composite outcome of decline in daily functioning and/or HRQoL, or mortality at one year follow-up. Daily functioning was assessed by Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living questionnaires and HRQoL by the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-VAS questionnaires.

RESULTS

In total, 192 patients with a median age of 77 years (interquartile range 72.3-81.0) were included. Patients with abnormal GPS were more often frail compared to those with normal GPS (79 % vs. 63 %, p = 0.03). Patients with abnormal GPS had higher mortality rates after one year compared to those with normal GPS (48 % vs. 23 %, p < 0.01) in unadjusted analysis. Abnormal GPS was associated with increased mortality risk (hazard ratio 2.8, 95 % CI 1.7-4.8). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of age, distant metastasis, tumor site, comorbidity, and malnutrition combined was 0.73 (0.68-0.83) for mortality prediction, and changed to 0.78 (0.73-0.86) with GPS (p = 0.10). The composite outcome occurred in 88 % of patients with abnormal GPS versus 83 % with normal GPS (p = 0.44).

DISCUSSION

Abnormal GPS was associated with frailty and mortality. The addition of GPS to clinical predictors showed a numerically superior mortality prediction in this cohort of older patients with cancer, although not statistically significant. While GPS may improve the stratification of future older patients with cancer, larger studies including older patients with similar tumor types are necessary to evaluate its clinical usefulness.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The TENT study is retrospectively registered at the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR), trial number NL8107. Date of registration: 22-10-2019.

Associations between peripheral whole blood cell counts derived indexes and cancer prognosis: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of cohort studies

Meta-analyses have reported conflicting data on the whole blood cell count (WBCC) derived indexes (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR], platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR], and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio [LMR]) and cancer prognosis. However, the strength and quality of this evidence has not been quantified in aggregate. To grade the evidence from published meta-analyses of cohort studies that investigated the associations between NLR, PLR, and LMR and cancer prognosis. A total of 694 associations from 224 articles were included. And 219 (97.8%) articles rated as moderate-to-high quality according to AMSTAR. There were four associations supported by convincing evidence. Meanwhile, 165 and 164 associations were supported by highly suggestive and suggestive evidence, respectively. In this umbrella review, we summarized the existing evidence on the WBCC-derived indexes and cancer prognosis. Due to the direction of effect sizes is not completely consistent between studies, further research is needed to assess causality and provide firm evidence.

LDH and NLR, as inflammatory markers, the independent risk factors for COVID-19 complicated with respiratory failure in elderly patients

Objective

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is an enzyme that is responsible for the production of lactic acid, which is a necessary byproduct when the body does not have enough oxygen. LDH levels in the blood can be used as a marker to predict mortality in patients with ARDS, severe COVID-19, and cancer. To analyze the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in the elderly and the correlation between LDH and respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients, to improve the identification and management of this type of pneumonia by clinicians.

Methods

This was a single-center retrospective study. We performed routine laboratory tests in 105 COVID-19 patients admitted to the affiliated hospital of Qingdao University (Qingdao, China) from October 1, 2022 to February 1, 2023. The diagnosis of respiratory failure was established based on the results of blood gas analysis upon admission.

Results

The median age was 79 years. Among all univariable parameters, LDH, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Prothrombin Time (PT) were significantly independent risk factors of RF in elderly COVID-19 patients. LDH (AUC=0.829) also had a maximum specificity (96.5%), with the cutoff value of 280.5.

Conclusion

The levels of LDH, NLR, and PT may serve as potential indicators for elderly COVID-19 patients combined with respiratory failure. LDH, NLR and PT assays can be beneficial for patients who need closer respiratory monitoring and more aggressive supportive care to prevent a negative prognosis.

Routine assessment of nutritional, functional and inflammatory criteria in patients with cancer: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The review discusses the significant impact of cancer on patients, particularly focusing on cachexia - a condition marked by weight and lean tissue loss. This condition critically affects the nutritional status, quality of life, and treatment outcomes of cancer patients.

RESEARCH QUESTION

The review seeks to understand the effectiveness and necessity of routine clinical monitoring of cancer cachexia, and how it can aid in better therapeutic interventions.

METHODS

The systematic review followed a pre-defined protocol based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)statement. A systematic search using specific keywords was conducted in PubMed and EMBASE databases on October 24, 2023, supplemented by citations from the original papers. The selection process involved screening titles and abstracts for relevance.

RESULTS

The review finds varying levels of effectiveness in the different measurement criteria used for monitoring cachexia. It highlights the potential of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) framework in defining and managing cancer cachexia, though noting some challenges in standardisation and implementation of measurements.

CONCLUSION

The present systematic review highlights the variability and lack of standardization in the application of GLIM criteria for monitoring cachexia in cancer patients. Despite these challenges, it will be important to determine the most efficacious clinically routine nutritional and inflammation assessments in the routine application of GLIM criteria assessment.

Novel prediction model of early screening lung adenocarcinoma with pulmonary fibrosis based on haematological index

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer (LC), a paramount global life-threatening condition causing significant mortality, is most commonly characterized by its subtype, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Concomitant with LC, pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) contribute to an intricate landscape of respiratory diseases. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in association with LC has been explored. However, other fibrotic interrelations remain underrepresented, especially for LUAD-PF and LUAD-ILD.

METHODS

We analysed data with statistical analysis from 7,137 healthy individuals, 7,762 LUAD patients, 7,955 ILD patients, and 2,124 complex PF patients collected over ten years. Furthermore, to identify blood indicators related to lung disease and its complications and compare the relationships between different indicators and lung diseases, we successfully applied the naive Bayes model for a biomarker-based prediction of diagnosis and development into complex PF.

RESULTS

Males predominantly marked their presence in all categories, save for complex PF where females took precedence. Biomarkers, specifically AGR, MLR, NLR, and PLR emerged as pivotal in discerning lung diseases. A machine-learning-driven predictive model underscored the efficacy of these markers in early detection and diagnosis, with NLR exhibiting unparalleled accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study elucidates the gender disparities in lung diseases and illuminates the profound potential of serum biomarkers, including AGR, MLR, NLR, and PLR in early lung cancer detection. With NLR as a standout, therefore, this study advances the exploration of indicator changes and predictions in patients with pulmonary disease and fibrosis, thereby improving early diagnosis, treatment, survival rate, and patient prognosis.

Inflammation indices in association with periodontitis and cancer

Inflammation is a complex physiological process that plays a pivotal role in many if not all pathological conditions, including infectious as well as inflammatory diseases, like periodontitis and autoimmune disorders. Inflammatory response to periodontal biofilms and tissue destruction in periodontitis is associated with the release of inflammatory mediators. Chronic inflammation can promote the development of cancer. Persistence of inflammatory mediators plays a crucial role in this process. Quantification and monitoring of the severity of inflammation in relation to cancer is essential. Periodontitis is mainly quantified based on the severity and extent of attachment loss and/or pocket probing depth, in addition with bleeding on probing. In recent years, studies started to investigate inflammation indices in association with periodontal diseases. To date, only few reviews have been published focusing on the relationship between blood cell count, inflammation indices, and periodontitis. This review presents a comprehensive overview of different systemic inflammation indices, their methods of measurement, and the clinical applications in relation to periodontitis and cancer. This review outlines the physiological basis of inflammation and the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the parameters described. Key inflammation indices are commonly utilized in periodontology such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio. Inflammation indices like the platelet to lymphocyte ratio, platelet distribution width, plateletcrit, red blood cell distribution width, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio, delta neutrophil index, and the systemic immune inflammation index are also used in hospital settings and will be discussed. The clinical roles and limitations, relationship to systemic diseases as well as their association to periodontitis and treatment response are described.

Impact of immune, inflammatory and nutritional indices on outcome in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with definitive (chemo)radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE

Systemic immune, inflammatory, and nutritional indices are prognostic across multiple tumor sites. Comprehensive analysis of these markers in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) treated with definitive (chemo)radiotherapy [(C)RT] is limited and may assist with future prognostication.

METHODS

For this retrospective cohort study, patients with LACC treated with definitive (C)RT were identified from a comprehensive cancer center's clinicopathological database. Pre-treatment indices were derived including systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte lymphocyte ratio (MLR), albumin to alkaline phosphatase ratio (AAPR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Univariate analysis was performed for PFS and OS. ROC curves were analyzed to determine optimal cut points. PFS and OS were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Log-Rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox regression.

RESULTS

196 patients were identified: median follow-up 7 years (IQR 2-11). Higher SII (≤700 vs >700; p = 0.01), higher PLR (≤ 250 vs >250; p < 0.001) and higher NLR (≤ 5 vs >5; p = 0.003) were associated with worse PFS. Higher SII (≤700 vs >700: p = 0.02), higher PLR (≤ 250 vs >250: p < 0.001) and higher NLR (≤ 5 vs >5; p = 0.01) were associated with worse OS. On multivariate analysis, SII, NLR and PLR were independently associated with PFS. SII and PLR were independently associated with OS.

CONCLUSIONS

SII and PLR were independently associated with PFS and OS in patients with LACC treated with definitive (C)RT. NLR was independently associated with PFS. High inflammatory state is associated with shorter survival suggesting this as a target for interventions if validated in future studies.

A systematic review of the role of systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Activation of the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) is associated with inferior outcomes across a spectrum of disease. Routinely available measures of the SIR (neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet:lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII), systemic inflammatory grade (SIG)) have been shown to provide prognostic value in patients undergoing surgical intervention. The present study aimed to review the literature describing the prognostic association of NLR, PLR, SII and SIG in patients undergoing intervention for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

METHODS

This PRISMA guidelines were followed. The MEDLINE database was interrogated for relevant studies investigating the effect of peri-operative systemic inflammation-based prognostic systems on all-cause mortality in patients undergoing OSR and EVAR for AAA. Inter-study heterogeneity precluded meaningful meta-analysis; qualitative analysis was instead performed.

RESULTS

There were 9 studies included in the final review reporting outcomes on a total of 4571 patients; 1256 (27 %) patients underwent OSR, and 3315 (73 %) patients underwent EVAR. 4356 (95 %) patients underwent a procedure for unruptured AAA, 215 (5 %) patients underwent an emergency procedure for ruptured AAA0.5 studies reported early (inpatient or 30-day) mortality; 2 of these found that elevated NLR predicted inferior survival, however PLR did not provide prognostic value. 6 studies reported long-term mortality; elevated NLR (5 studies), PLR (1 study), and SIG (1 study) predicted inferior survival.

CONCLUSIONS

It appears that activation of the SIR is associated with inferior prognosis in patients undergoing intervention for AAA, however the evidence is limited by heterogenous methodology and lack of consensus regarding optimal cutoff.

PROSPERO DATABASE REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022363765.

CT Derived Measurement of Body Composition: Observations from a Comparative Analysis of Patients with Colorectal and Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND

CT-derived measures of body composition have been shown to have prognostic value in patients with cancer. However, few studies have compared these observations across tumor types and stages of disease. The aim of the present study was to compare body composition measures between two types of cancers, i.e. colorectal cancer (CRC), which is less inflammatory and patients maintain body composition over a longitudinal study period, whereas lung cancer (LC) is proinflammatory and patients lose more fat and muscle mass using a standard methodology.

METHODS

Clinicopathological characteristics, including those pertaining to nutritional risk/status and systemic inflammation in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC, n = 1047) and lung cancer (LC, n = 662), were compared. The CT image at L3 was used to assess body composition. Comparison of these cohorts was carried out using the chi-square test. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of clinico-pathological variables on body composition, and scatter plots were used to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and CT-derived measures of body composition.

RESULTS

According to CT-derived body composition, high subcutaneous (SFI) and visceral fat index (VFI) were common (>70%) in both CRC and LC. Also, low skeletal muscle index (SMI) and density (SMD) were approximately 40-50% and 60-70% in both CRC and LC. Compared with CRC, patients with LC had a higher American Society of Anaesthesia (ASA) (P < 0.001), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) (P < 0.001), modified frailty index (mFI) (P < 0.001), modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) (P < 0.001), and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P < 0.001) scores.On binary logistic regression analysis, MUST, mFI, and NLR were predictors of subcutaneous adiposity (P < 0.05); type of cancer, MUST, and mFI were predictors of visceral obesity (P < 0.001); age, type of cancer, MUST, and mGPS were predictors of low SMI (P < 0.001); and age, type of cancer, mFI, and mGPS were predictors of low SMD (P < 0.05). There was a similar relationship between BMI and other measures of CT-derived body composition across two types of cancers.

CONCLUSION

Obesity and low skeletal muscle mass were common in both CRC and LC cohorts despite large differences in comorbidity, nutritional risk, systemic inflammation, and survival, even when normalized for TNM stage. These observations would support the hypothesis that, although prognostic, CT derived body composition analysis primarily reflects patient constitution rather than the effect of tumor stage in patients with cancer. The systemic inflammatory response, as evidenced by mGPS, can be considered as an important therapeutic target and loss of muscle mass in patients with advanced cancer is related to the systemic inflammatory response.

Investigating the impact of the inflammatory immune microenvironment and steroids or COX-2 inhibitors usage on immunotherapy in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): a propensity score matched analysis

PURPOSE

The research aimed to evaluate the connection between pre-treatment inflammatory biomarkers and clinical results in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 2019 and 2022, we analyzed 354 individuals diagnosed with metastatic ESCC who underwent immunotherapy. The study sought to evaluate the impact of specific inflammatory biomarkers (Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CRP/ALB) and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors or steroids usage on the effectiveness and survival outcomes of immunotherapy in advanced ESCC. The research utilized Kaplan‒Meier and Cox regression models alongside propensity score matching for analysis.

RESULTS

The findings revealed that elevated pre-treatment NLR (11.0 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.021) and CRP/ALB (11.4 vs. 14.6 months, p = 0.022) levels were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) outcomes, while the use of steroids did not show a significant difference in OS (15.5 vs. 15.4 months, p = 0.685) between groups. Similarly, no notable disparity in OS was observed between patients treated withCOX-2 inhibitors and those who were not (13.8 vs. 11.0 months, p = 0.054).

CONCLUSION

Lower levels of NLR and CRP/ALB prior to treatment were linked to better effectiveness and OS in immunotherapy for advanced ESCC. The study did not identify a significant relationship between OS in patients with esophageal cancer and the use of either steroids or COX-2 inhibitors.

Antigen presenting cells in cancer immunity and mediation of immune checkpoint blockade

Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) are pivotal mediators of immune responses. Their role has increasingly been spotlighted in the realm of cancer immunology, particularly as our understanding of immunotherapy continues to evolve and improve. There is growing evidence that these cells play a non-trivial role in cancer immunity and have roles dependent on surface markers, growth factors, transcription factors, and their surrounding environment. The main dendritic cell (DC) subsets found in cancer are conventional DCs (cDC1 and cDC2), monocyte-derived DCs (moDC), plasmacytoid DCs (pDC), and mature and regulatory DCs (mregDC). The notable subsets of monocytes and macrophages include classical and non-classical monocytes, macrophages, which demonstrate a continuum from a pro-inflammatory (M1) phenotype to an anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotype, and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Despite their classification in the same cell type, each subset may take on an immune-activating or immunosuppressive phenotype, shaped by factors in the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we introduce the role of DCs, monocytes, and macrophages and recent studies investigating them in the cancer immunity context. Additionally, we review how certain characteristics such as abundance, surface markers, and indirect or direct signaling pathways of DCs and macrophages may influence tumor response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. We also highlight existing knowledge gaps regarding the precise contributions of different myeloid cell subsets in influencing the response to ICB therapy. These findings provide a summary of our current understanding of myeloid cells in mediating cancer immunity and ICB and offer insight into alternative or combination therapies that may enhance the success of ICB in cancers.

Prognostic significances of systemic inflammatory response markers in patients with synchronous esophageal and head and neck cancers

BACKGROUND

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequently develop synchronous esophageal cancer (ESCC), but there is a lack of clinical predictors. The neutrophil to lymphocyte (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte (PLR), and lymphocyte to monocyte ratios (LMRs), reflect the balance between pro-cancer inflammation and anti-cancer immune responses, but their role in HNSCC and synchronous cancer remain uncertain.

METHOD

The study consecutively enrolled a total of 717 patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC who received pre-treatment esophageal endoscopic screening. The pretreatment NLR, LMR and PLRs were calculated and analyzed in comparison with the clinical factors.

RESULTS

A total of 103 patients (14.4%) were found to have synchronous ESCCs, and were associated with a significantly lower absolute lymphocyte count (p < 0.001), higher NLRs (p = 0.044) and lower LMRs (p = 0.001), but not PLRs (p = 0.49). The ROC curve for the presence of synchronous ESCC verified the optimal cutoff value as 2.5 for NLRs and 4.0 for LMRs. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that a LMR <4 (OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.27-3.88, p = 0.005), alcohol consumption (OR 4.19; 95% CI 1.47-11.91, p = 0.007), tumor location over the pharynx (OR 1.68; 95% CI 1.07-2.64, p = 0.025), and low body mass index (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.88-0.99, p = 0.039) were risk factors for developing synchronous ESCC. A low-LMR was significantly associated with decreases in overall survival (p < 0.0001), in both synchronous and non-synchronous groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that LMR <4 (HR 1.97; 95% CI 1.38-2.81, p < 0.001), a low-BMI (HR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93-0.99, p = 0.044) and presence of synchronous ESCC (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.10-2.22, p = 0.013) were independent prognostic factors for HNSCC patients.

CONCLUSION

Incorporation of LMR into other identified risk factors, such as alcohol consumption, tumor location over pharynx, and low-BMI, may establish a more efficient screening program for esophageal exploration in HNSCC patients. The significances of LMR also suggest that anti-cancer immunity may play a role in the filed cancerization to initiate multiple cancers, and the immunotherapy may have potentials for prevention or as an adjuvant treatment for synchronous SCC in the future.

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.

Mortgage Borrowing and Chronic Disease Outcomes in Older Age: Evidence From Biomarker Data in the Health and Retirement Study

OBJECTIVES

The medical diagnosis of a disease is common in older age and can carry significant financial costs. For many older adults, equity in a home is their primary component of wealth; however, housing wealth is illiquid. We analyze the relationship between the liquidation of housing wealth through mortgage borrowing on older homeowners' ability to successfully control a disease.

METHODS

We use data on homeowners aged 65 and older from the 1998-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 3,457). We use biomarkers and physical health indicators to measure disease control following a medical diagnosis of diabetes, heart condition, high blood pressure, lung disease, or cancer. Random effects linear probability and instrumental variable regressions estimate the associations of housing wealth, new mortgage borrowing, and disease control.

RESULTS

Descriptively, 28% of older homeowners who borrow against home equity are not controlled on their disease, compared to 33% of non-borrowers. Panel data instrumental variable regressions show that each $10,000 borrowed from home equity after diagnosis is associated with a 17-percentage-point reduction in the probability of the disease not being controlled.

DISCUSSION

Many older adults are not able or willing to liquidate housing wealth, and the ability to borrow also depends on changes in home values. Thus, housing wealth is not a uniform social determinant of health but is shaped by older adults' participation in financial markets.

Systemic inflammation score as a predictor of death within one year after esophagectomy

BACKGROUND

After radical resection for esophageal cancer, death within 1 year of surgery can occur due both to recurrence and to other diseases, even after postoperative complications have been overcome. This study identified risk factors for early death within 1 year of esophagectomy for reasons other than death in hospital in patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer or esophagogastric junction cancer.

METHODS

We reviewed 366 patients who underwent esophagectomy without adjuvant treatment between January 2009 and July 2022 for thoracic esophageal cancer or esophagogastric junction cancer. Patients who died within 1 year excluding in-hospital death were compared with those who did not. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of death within 1 year after surgery.

RESULTS

Death within 1 year occurred in 32 of 366 patients, 24 from primary disease and 8 from other diseases. Deaths within 1 year were significantly older than the other cases, had significantly lower % vital capacity (%VC), and occurred significantly more often in cases in advanced stages of disease. In a multivariable analysis, a systemic inflammation score (SIS) based on serum albumin level and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio was identified as an independent predictor of death within 1 year. As SIS increased, %VC decreased significantly, and CRP level and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio increased significantly. There was no relationship between SIS and pN. Death within 1 year increased as SIS increased (p = 0.001 for trend).

CONCLUSION

SIS assessment undertaken before beginning esophageal cancer treatment is a useful predictor of death within 1 year of surgery.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic predictive marker on adults with traumatic brain injury: Systematic review

Background

The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has emerged as a prognostic predictive marker in various diseases, but its role in traumatic brain injury (TBI) has not been fully elucidated. This study aims to evaluate the role of PLR as a prognostic predictive marker in adults with TBI.

Methods

This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items in the Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Guidelines 2020. A comprehensive search was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Library of Congress, and Jisc Library Hub Discover database to identify relevant studies published up to February 2023. Both prospective and retrospective observational studies written in English or Indonesian were included in the study. No restrictions were placed on the year and country of publication and duration of follow-up. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and the risk of bias was estimated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Research (Ro-BANS) tool. A narrative synthesis was also conducted to summarize the findings.

Results

We retrieved 1644 references using the search strategy, and 1623 references were excluded based on screening the title and abstract. The full text was retrieved for 20 articles and subjected to the eligibility criteria, of which 16 were excluded from the study. Four papers with a total of 1.467 sample sizes were included in the review. The median of NOS for study quality was 8-9, with the risk of selection bias using the Ro-BANS tool being low in all studies except for the blinding outcome assessments, which are all unclear. The study finding suggests that the PLR has the potential as an independent prognostic predictive marker in adult patients with TBI. In three studies, a high level of admission PLR may independently predict an increasing mortality risk in 30 days and adverse outcomes measured by the Glasgow outcome scale in 6 months following TBI. However, one study shows that PLR may have limited value as a predictor of mortality or favorable neurological outcomes compared to other hematological parameters. Further studies were needed to establish the clinical utility of PLR and fill the present gaps.

Conclusion

This systematic review provides evidence supporting the utilization of PLR as a prognostic predictive marker in adult patients with TBI. The PLR can mainly be utilized, especially in rural practice, as PLR is a simple, low-cost, and routinely performed hematological examination.

Genetically predicted 91 circulating inflammatory proteins in relation to risk of urological malignancies: a Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Urological malignancies, including kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer, are major health concerns worldwide. Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of these cancers, and circulating inflammatory proteins may play a role in their development. However, the causal relationship between specific plasma proteins and urological malignancies remains unclear.

METHODS

We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Instrumental variables representing genetic variants associated with circulating inflammatory proteins were used to infer causality on the risk of kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer. Four MR methods were utilized to provide robust effect estimates.

RESULTS

Our analysis identified several plasma proteins associated with a lower risk of kidney and bladder cancer, including Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1, Caspase 8, Natural killer cell receptor 2B4, and Tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 12. However, after adjusting for multiple testing, these associations did not remain statistically significant. For prostate cancer, CUB domain-containing protein 1 and Interleukin-10 receptor subunit beta were found to be protective, while Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and SIR2-like protein 2 were identified as risk factors. After FDR adjustment, none of the inflammatory proteins were found to be significantly associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that certain plasma proteins may be involved in the development of urological malignancies. Mendelian randomization provides a useful framework for investigating causal relationships between inflammatory proteins and urological cancers, offering potential insights into their underlying biology and therapeutic targets.

Glucose-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (GLR) as an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma-Cohort Study

Background: We retrospectively evaluated the usefulness of an elevated glucose-to-lymphocyte ratio (GLR) as a sensitive prognostic biomarker of disease-specific survival in 338 patients who underwent surgical resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods: The optimal GLR cutoff value was determined using the method of Contal and O'Quigley. Patient demographics, clinical information, and imaging data were analyzed to identify preoperative predictors of long-term survival outcomes. Results: Elevated GLR correlated significantly with aggressive tumor biologic behaviors, such as a high carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 level (p = 0.003) and large tumor size (p = 0.011). Multivariate analysis identified (1) GLR > 92.72 [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.475, p < 0.001], (2) CA 19-9 level > 145.35 (HR = 1.577, p = 0.068), and (3) symptoms (p = 0.064) as independent predictors of long-term, cancer-specific survival. These three risk factors were used to group patients into groups 1 (0 factors), 2 (1-2 factors), and 3 (3 factors), which corresponded to significantly different 5-year overall survival rates (50.2%, 34.6%, and 11.7%, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusions: An elevated preoperative GLR is associated with aggressive tumor characteristics and is an independent predictor of poor postoperative prognosis in patients with PDAC. Further prospective studies are required to verify these findings.

Impact of Pretransplant C-Reactive Protein, Neutrophiles, Platelets, and Albumin Levels on Recipient Survival After Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplantation

BACKGROUND

Long-lasting diabetes mellitus type 1 and end-stage renal disease induce severe metabolic and immunologic deterioration. Pretransplant C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin (ALB) levels impact kidney transplantation. We evaluated the effects of preoperative CRP, ALB, neutrophils (NEU), and platelet (PLT) counts on 1- and 5-year recipient survival after simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPK).

METHODS

Among 103 SPK recipients, the parameters were as follows: CRP (mean: 4.5 ± 4.97 mg/L); NEU (mean: 5.12 ± 2.13 × 103/mm3); PLT (mean: 244 ± 84 × 103/mm3); ALB (mean 4.5 ± 0.75 g/dL) were obtained before transplantation. Cox regression, uni-, multivariate analysis for 1- and 5-year survivals were performed with 95% CIs, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was assessed.

RESULTS

In Cox regression, ALB <3.65 g/dL significantly affected 1- and 5-year survivors with hazard ratios of 8 (95% CI, 1.5-38.28; P < .05) and 3.13 (95% CI, 1.45-6.73; P < .05), respectively. In univariate analysis, we found significantly decreased 1-year survival when PLT <180×103/mm3, ALB <3.65 g/dL, NEU >5.8×103/mm3 and CRP >2.25 mg/L with odds ratios (OR) of 6.75 (95% CI, 2.12-21.15); 4.05 (95% CI, 1.3-12.09); 2.97 (95% CI, 1.02-8.64) and 5.51 (95% CI, 1.67-18.19), respectively. Independent factors for 5-year survival were CRP, ALB, and PLT with OR of 4.72 (95% CI, 1.67-13.29), 3.31 (95% CI, 1.18-9.25), and 4.2 (95% CI, 1.39-12.68), respectively. In multivariate analysis, we built 2 models for 1-year survival. Model 1 (ALB+PLT) with ORs of 3.12 (95% CI, 0.97-10.07) and 5.55 (95% CI, 1.67-18.4); and model 2 (CRP+PLT) with ORs of 5.51 (95% CI, 1.5-17.3) and 4.3 (95% CI, 1.2-15.06), respectively. The AUC for models 1 and 2 were 0.74 and 0.759, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

NEU, PLT, ALB, and CRP levels assessed before transplantation are independent factors for 1- and 5-year SPK recipient survival.

Joint association of serum urate and healthy diet with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease incidence: results from the UK Biobank study

Background: The role of serum urate (SU) levels in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a topic of debate, and it is unclear whether a healthy diet can mitigate the impact of SU on COPD risk. The objective of this study is to examine whether and to what extent a healthy diet can reduce the risk of COPD in relation to SU levels. Methods: The cohort analysis included 155 403 participants from the UK Biobank. SU levels were measured at the time of recruitment. A healthy diet score was calculated based on the consumption of vegetables, fruits, fish, processed meats, unprocessed red meat, whole grains, and refined grains. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the associations between SU levels, a healthy diet score, and the risk of COPD. Results: During a follow-up period of 1 409 969 person-years, 2918 incident cases of COPD were identified. Compared with the lowest SU level group, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for COPD were 1.17 (1.03, 1.34) for participants with the highest SU level (hyperuricemia), indicating a positive association. Additionally, a dose-response relationship was observed between SU levels and the incidence of COPD (P-value for overall <0.0001). In the combined effect analysis, compared to individuals with high SU (hyperuricemia) + a low diet score (diet score <4), those with normal SU + a high diet score (diet score ≥4) had a HR (95% CI) of 0.75 (0.65, 0.87) for COPD. Conclusions: In summary, there is a positive association between SU levels and the risk of COPD. Furthermore, a healthier diet can mitigate the risk of COPD associated with high SU levels.

Cachexia index for prognostication in surgical patients with locally advanced oesophageal or gastric cancer: multicentre cohort study

BACKGROUND

Features of cancer cachexia adversely influence patient outcomes, yet few currently inform clinical decision-making. This study assessed the value of the cachexia index (CXI), a novel prognostic marker, in patients for whom neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery for oesophagogastric cancer is planned.

METHODS

Consecutive patients newly diagnosed with locally advanced (T3-4 or at least N1) oesophagogastric cancer between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 were identified through the West of Scotland and South-East Scotland Cancer Networks. CXI was calculated as (L3 skeletal muscle index) × (serum albumin)/(neutrophil lymphocyte ratio). Sex-stratified cut-off values were determined based on the area under the curve (AUC), and patients were divided into groups with low or normal CXI. Primary outcomes were disease progression during neoadjuvant chemotherapy and overall survival (at least 5 years of follow-up).

RESULTS

Overall, 385 patients (72% men, median age 66 years) were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for oesophageal (274) or gastric (111) cancer across the study interval. Although patients with a low CXI (men: CXI below 52 (AUC 0.707); women: CXI below 41 (AUC 0.759)) were older with more co-morbidity, disease characteristics were comparable to those in patients with a normal CXI. Rates of disease progression during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, leading to inoperability, were higher in patients with a low CXI (28 versus 12%; adjusted OR 3.07, 95% c.i. 1.67 to 5.64; P < 0.001). Low CXI was associated with worsened postoperative mortality (P = 0.019) and decreased overall survival (median 14.9 versus 56.9 months; adjusted HR 1.85, 1.42 to 2.42; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

CXI is associated with disease progression, worse postoperative mortality, and overall survival, and could improve prognostication and decision-making in patients with locally advanced oesophagogastric cancer.

The unexpected effect of parathyroid adenoma on inflammation

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is an endocrinological disease that affects systemic inflammation. This study is aimed to investigate the preoperative and postoperative effect of PHPT on systemic inflammation. A total of 203 patients who were successfully operated for PHPT and 98 healthy controls were included in the study. The blood tests of the patients in the last month preoperatively and in the postoperative 6th month were compared. In addition, preoperative and postoperative tests were compared with the healthy control group. When the preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and systemic inflammation index (SII) values of the patients who were operated for parathyroid adenoma were compared with the control group (p values were < 0.05, 0.01, 0.19, < 0.05), the NLR, PLR, and SII values were significantly lower in the patient group with parathyroid adenoma than in the control group. When the preoperative and postoperative 6th month NLR, PLR, LMR, and SII values of the patients were compared (p values: 0.026, 0.56, 0.023, 0.016, respectively), there was a significant increase in NLR and SII values after excision, while a significant decrease was observed in the LMR value. When the postoperative 6th month NLR, PLR, LMR, SII values were compared with the healthy control group (p values: 0.22, 0.29, 0.19, 0.29, respectively), no significant difference was observed between all values. We found that the immune system was suppressed in PHPT and this returned to normal levels after a successful surgery.

Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio Might Serve as a Prognostic Marker in Young Patients with Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Young patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) mostly lack typical prognostic markers and face a dire prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic relevance of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) in TSCC patients, with a special emphasis on patients under 45 years.

METHODS

This retrospective study included all patients primarily treated for TSCC. The prognostic relevance of LMR was investigated in terms of predicting the overallsurvival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

RESULTS

A total of 74 patients were included and the young cohort (<45 years) comprised 27 individuals. The mortality and recurrence rates were 39.2% (n = 29) and 37.8% (n = 28), respectively. OS and DFS were significantly shorter in the low LMR group within the whole cohort. Furthermore, low LMR was associated with worse prognosis, particularly inferior OS (median OS 1.7 vs. 14.6 years, p = 0.0156) and worse DFS (median DFS 0.8 years vs. not reached, p = 0.0405) in the young patient cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal that pretreatment LMR might become a prognostic tool for young TSCC patients, especially due to its availability. However, further studies on larger cohorts are necessary to validate our results.

Impact of Blood-Count-Derived Inflammatory Markers in Psoriatic Disease Progression

Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disease, linked to local and systemic inflammation and predisposing patients to a higher risk of associated comorbidities. Cytokine levels are not widely available for disease progression monitoring due to high costs. Validated low-cost and reliable markers are needed for assessing disease progression and outcome. This study aims to assess the reliability of blood-count-derived inflammatory markers as disease predictors and to identify prognostic factors for disease severity. Patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into three study groups according to disease severity measured by the Body Surface Area (BSA) score: mild, moderate, and severe psoriasis. White blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (d-NLR), systemic immune index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), and aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI) positively were correlated with disease severity (p < 0.005). d-NLR, NLR, and SII are independent prognostic factors for mild and moderate psoriasis (p < 0.05). d-NLR is the only independent prognostic factor for all three study groups. Moderate psoriasis is defined by d-NLR values between 1.49 and 2.19. NLR, PLR, d-NLR, MLR, SII, SIRI, and AISI are useful indicators of systemic inflammation and disease severity in psoriasis.

The Therapeutic Application of Hydrogen in Cancer: The Potential and Challenges

Hydrogen therapy has emerged as a possible approach for both preventing and treating cancer. Cancers are often associated with oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Hydrogen, with its unique physiological functions and characteristics, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties, making it an attractive candidate for cancer treatment. Through its ability to mitigate oxidative damage, modulate inflammatory responses, and sustain cellular viability, hydrogen demonstrates significant potential in preventing cancer recurrence and improving treatment outcomes. Preclinical studies have shown the efficacy of hydrogen therapy in several cancer types, highlighting its ability to enhance the effectiveness of conventional treatments while reducing associated side effects. Furthermore, hydrogen therapy has been found to be safe and well-tolerated in clinical settings. Nonetheless, additional investigations are necessary to improve a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying hydrogen's therapeutic potential and refine the administration and dosage protocols. However, further clinical trials are still needed to explore its safety profile and capacity. In aggregate, hydrogen therapy represents an innovative and promising treatment for several malignancies.

Role of specific nutritional biomarkers in predicting post-operative complications among patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery

PURPOSE

Nutritional biomarkers like serum prealbumin, transferrin, retinol-binding protein (RBP), C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) have the inherent ability to diagnose undernutrition objectively before it is clinically manifested. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the specific nutritional biomarkers in predicting post-operative complications.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted in the department of surgery and included all patients aged 18 years and above who underwent elective abdominal surgery. Demographic details and clinical and surgical details were documented from the case records. Nutritional biomarker assay was done at admission. The post-operative complications occurring until discharge were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. The diagnostic accuracy of the specific nutritional biomarkers in predicting post-operative complications was assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 320 patients were included in the study. Of these, 126 (39.38%) developed post-operative complications. Major complications accounted for 19.05% of the complications, while 80.95% were minor complications. Patients with blood prealbumin level less than 17.287 mg/dL had a higher incidence of complications (p < 0.001). Serum transferrin levels less than 168.04 mg/dL and IGF1 levels less than < 44.51 ng/ml showed increased incidence of complications (p < 0.001). The AUC was found to be the highest for serum IGF1 with 0.7782. Sensitivity was equally high for IGF1 and serum transferrin, with 76.98% for the former and 76.19% for the latter.

CONCLUSION

Specific nutritional biomarkers, like serum prealbumin and transferrin, were efficient in predicting postoperative complications of patients before undergoing elective abdominal surgeries even after adjusting for confounders. This can facilitate preoperative corrective measures to lower the overall postoperative complications.

Association between inflammation-based prognostic markers and mortality of non-cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the association between inflammation and nutrition-based biomarkers and postoperative outcomes after non-cardiac surgery.

METHODS

Between January 2011 and June 2019, a total of 102,052 patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery were evaluated, with C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, and complete blood count (CBC) measured within six months before surgery. We assessed their CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS). We determined the best cut-off values by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Patients were divided into high and low groups according to the estimated threshold, and we compared the one-year mortality.

RESULTS

The one-year mortality of the entire sample was 4.2%. ROC analysis revealed areas under the curve of 0.796, 0.743, 0.670, and 0.708 for CAR, NLR, PLR, and mGPS, respectively. According to the estimated threshold, high CAR, NLR, PLR, and mGPS were associated with increased one-year mortality (1.7% vs. 11.7%, hazard ratio [HR]: 2.38, 95% CI [2.05, 2.76], P < 0.001 for CAR; 2.2% vs. 10.3%, HR: 1.81, 95% CI [1.62, 2.03], P < 0.001 for NLR; 2.6% vs. 10.5%, HR: 1.86, 95% CI [1.73, 2.01], P < 0.001 for PLR; and 2.3% vs. 16.3%, HR: 2.37, 95% CI [2.07, 2.72], P < 0.001 for mGPS).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative CAR, NRL, PLR, and mGPS were associated with postoperative mortality. Our findings may be helpful in predicting mortality after non-cardiac surgery.

Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index Predicts Tumor Recurrence after Radical Resection for Colorectal Cancer

The systemic inflammatory response is associated with tumor promotion and suppression. Accumulating evidence shows that peripheral blood markers of inflammatory response predict clinical outcomes in various human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic relevance of the inflammation-based biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC). We retrospectively analyzed 118 CRC patients who underwent curative resection between 2012 and 2017. The inflammation-based biomarkers were evaluated by using preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and Glasgow prognostic score (GPS). Prognostic values were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier analysis for cancer-specific recurrence-free survival (RFS) and Cox proportional-hazards model. There were significant differences in the levels of NLR, PLR, SII, and SIRI between recurrence and non-recurrence group. The area under the curve (AUC) for SII was 0.710, which showed the highest value in the inflammation-based biomarkers. Multivariate analysis identified that SII (p = 0.0031) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0168) were independent prognostic factors for recurrence. High SII exhibited more dismal RFS than low SII in CRC patients with non-metastatic lymph node (p = 0.0002). Our study suggests that SII and lymph node metastasis could be useful indicators in predicting the recurrence of CRC patients. Additionally, SII could accurately stratify CRC patients with tumor recurrence by combining with lymph node metastasis. This result would be beneficial for determining the optimal therapeutic strategies after surgical resection for CRC.

The Crying Need for a Better Response Assessment in Rectal Cancer

OPINION STATEMENT

Since total neoadjuvant treatment achieves almost 30% pathologic complete response, organ preservation has been increasingly debated for good responders after neoadjuvant treatment for patients diagnosed with rectal cancer. Two organ preservation strategies are available: a watch and wait strategy and a local excision strategy including patients with a near clinical complete response. A major issue is the selection of patients according to the initial tumor staging or the response assessment. Despite modern imaging improvement, identifying complete response remains challenging. A better selection could be possible by radiomics analyses, exploiting numerous image features to feed data characterization algorithms. The subsequent step is to include baseline and/or pre-therapeutic MRI, PET-CT, and CT radiomics added to the patients' clinicopathological data, inside machine learning (ML) prediction models, with predictive or prognostic purposes. These models could be further improved by the addition of new biomarkers such as circulating tumor biomarkers, molecular profiling, or pathological immune biomarkers.

C-Reactive Protein Signaling Pathways in Tumor Progression

Many cancers arise from sites of chronic inflammation, which creates an inflammatory microenvironment surrounding the tumor. Inflammatory substances secreted by cells in the inflammatory environment can induce the proliferation and survival of cancer cells, thereby promoting cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. Therefore, it is important to identify the role of inflammatory factors in cancer progression. This review summarizes the signaling pathways and roles of C-reactive protein (CRP) in various cancer types, including breast, liver, renal, and pancreatic cancer, and the tumor microenvironment. Mounting evidence suggests the role of CRP in breast cancer, particularly in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is typically associated with a worse prognosis. Increased CRP in the inflammatory environment contributes to enhanced invasiveness and tumor formation in TNBC cells. CRP promotes endothelial cell formation and angiogenesis and contributes to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In pancreatic and kidney cancers, CRP contributes to tumor progression. In liver cancer, CRP regulates inflammatory responses and lipid metabolism. CRP modulates the activity of various signaling molecules in macrophages and monocytes present in the tumor microenvironment, contributing to tumor development, the immune response, and inflammation. In the present review, we overviewed the role of CRP signaling pathways and the association between inflammation and cancer in various types of cancer. Identifying the interactions between CRP signaling pathways and other inflammatory mediators in cancer progression is crucial for understanding the complex relationship between inflammation and cancer.

Longitudinal characterisation of cachexia in patients undergoing surgical resection for cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The complexity of the cancer cachexia phenotype has undoubtedly hindered researchers' understanding of this devastating syndrome. The presence and magnitude of host-tumour interactions are rarely considered during clinical decision-making within the current staging paradigm. Furthermore, treatment options for those patients who are identified as suffering from cancer cachexia remain extremely limited.

RECENT FINDINGS

Previous attempts to characterise cachexia have largely focussed on individual surrogate disease markers, often studied across a limited timeframe. While the adverse prognostic value of clinical and biochemical features is evident, the relationships between these are less clear. Investigation of patients with earlier-stage disease could allow researchers to identify markers of cachexia that precede the refractory stage of the wasting process. Appreciation of the cachectic phenotype within 'curative' populations may aid our understanding of the syndrome's genesis and provide potential routes for prevention, rather than treatment.

SUMMARY

Holistic, longitudinal characterisation of cancer cachexia, across all at-risk and affected populations, is of vital importance for future research in the field. This paper presents the protocol for an observational study aiming to create a robust and holistic characterisation of surgical patients with, or at risk of, cancer cachexia.

A novel predictor for the use of concurrent chemotherapy in early-stage cervical cancer with intermediate-risk factors

Objective

For early-stage cervical cancer patients experiencing radical surgery, postoperative radiotherapy was recommended for patients with a combination of intermediate-risk factors. However, there was no consensus on whether to administer concurrent chemotherapy. The aim of the study was to confirm the clinical value of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in guiding the use of concurrent chemotherapy during postoperative radiotherapy.

Methods

A total of 969 patients with FIGO stage IB-IIA cervical cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to compare disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates between different group. A Cox proportional hazards regression test was used to conduct multivariate analyses.

Results

For the patients in the high CONUT group (≥3), the addition of concurrent chemotherapy had better 5-year DFS (91.2 % vs. 72.8 %, P = 0.005) and CSS (93.8 % vs. 77.4 %, P = 0.013) than those without it. Meanwhile, the patients with concurrent chemotherapy had less rate of locoregional recurrence (8.5 % vs 16.7 %, P = 0.034) and distant metastases (11.7 % vs 30.4 %, P = 0.015). The multivariate analysis showed that concurrent chemotherapy was detected to be a factor significantly associated with DFS (P = 0.011), local control (P = 0.041), distant metastasis (P = 0.005) and CSS (P = 0.023). For the patients in low CONUT group (<3), there was no difference in prognosis between patients.

Conclusion

Pretreatment CONUT score may be a predictive factor for the use of concurrent chemotherapy in early-stage cervical cancer with intermediate-risk factors during postoperative radiotherapy, and it can be helpful to determine the adjuvant treatment scheme.

The prognostic value of preoperative systemic inflammation-based scoring in patients undergoing endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm

OBJECTIVE

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common condition that is predominantly managed in the United Kingdom by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Activation of the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) appears to offer prognostic value in patients with vascular disease. The present study examines the relationship between the SIR and survival in patients undergoing standard and complex endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR and fenestrated/branched [F/B]-EVAR).

METHODS

Consecutive patients undergoing elective EVAR and F/B-EVAR were retrospectively identified from three tertiary vascular centers over a 5-year period. Neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score were calculated from preoperative blood results and combined into the systemic inflammatory grade (SIG). The primary outcome was all-cause mortality during the follow-up period, which was compared between subgroups of SIGs.

RESULTS

There were 506 patients included in the final study, with a median follow-up of 68.0 months (interquartile range, 27.3 months), and there were 163 deaths during the follow-up period. Mean survival in the SIG 0 vs SIG 1 vs SIG 2 vs SIG 3 vs SIG 4 subgroups was 80.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 76.5-85.0 months) vs 78.7 months (95% CI, 72.7-84.7 months) vs 61.0 months (95% CI, 51.1-70.8 months) vs 65.1 months (95% CI, 45.0-85.2 months) vs 54.9 months (95% CI, 34.4-75.3 months) (P < .05). In the entire cohort, age (P < .001), body mass index (P < .05), high creatinine (P < .05), and SIG (P < .05) were associated with survival on univariate analysis, with retained independent association for age (hazard ratio, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.29-2.31; P < .001) and SIG (hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.02-1.40; P < .05) on multivariate analysis. Increasing SIG (area under the curve, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.58-0.78; P < .01) predicted 1-year mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Markers of the SIR such the SIG may be used to identify patients at higher risk of adverse outcome in patients undergoing EVAR and F/B-EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysms. These findings warrant further investigation in large prospective cohort studies.

Association between Serum C-Reactive Protein Concentrations and Risk of Cancer-Related Mortality in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: 10-Year Outcomes of the Q-Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

Cancer constitutes a major source of morbidity and mortality among people undergoing hemodialysis (HD). A systemic inflammatory response is associated with the incidence and prognosis of cancer in the general population. However, the effect of systemic inflammation on cancer-related mortality in patients undergoing HD remains unclear.

METHODS

We analyzed 3,139 patients registered in the Q-Cohort Study, which is a multicenter, observational cohort study of patients on hemodialysis in Japan. The primary outcome was cancer-related mortality during a 10-year follow-up. The covariate of interest was serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations at baseline. The patients were divided into tertiles based on their serum CRP concentrations at baseline (tertile [T] 1: ≤0.07; T2: 0.08-0.24; and T3: ≥0.25). The association between serum CRP concentrations and cancer-related mortality was calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model and the Fine-Gray subdistribution hazards model with non-cancer-related death as a competing risk.

RESULTS

During the 10-year follow-up, 216 patients died of cancer. In the multivariable analysis, the risk of cancer-related mortality in the highest tertile (T3) of serum CRP concentrations was significantly higher than that in the lowest tertile (T1) (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.68 [1.15-2.44]). This association remained consistent in the competing risk model, in which the subdistribution hazard ratio was 1.47 and the 95% confidence interval was 1.00-2.14 for T3 compared with T1.

CONCLUSION

Higher serum CRP concentrations are associated with an increased risk of cancer-related mortality in patients undergoing maintenance HD.

Cancer-associated cachexia - understanding the tumour macroenvironment and microenvironment to improve management

Cachexia is a devastating, multifactorial and often irreversible systemic syndrome characterized by substantial weight loss (mainly of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue) that occurs in around 50-80% of patients with cancer. Although this condition mainly affects skeletal muscle (which accounts for approximately 40% of total body weight), cachexia is a multi-organ syndrome that also involves white and brown adipose tissue, and organs including the bones, brain, liver, gut and heart. Notably, cachexia accounts for up to 20% of cancer-related deaths. Cancer-associated cachexia is invariably associated with systemic inflammation, anorexia and increased energy expenditure. Understanding these mechanisms is essential, and the progress achieved in this area over the past decade could help to develop new therapeutic approaches. In this Review, we examine the currently available evidence on the roles of both the tumour macroenvironment and microenvironment in cancer-associated cachexia, and provide an overview of the novel therapeutic strategies developed to manage this syndrome.

A decreased preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, systemic immune-inflammation index, and pan-immune-inflammation value are associated with the poorer survival of patients with a stent inserted as a bridge to curative surgery for obstructive colorectal cancer

PURPOSE

Inflammation is one of the hallmarks of cancer, and inflammation-based markers that are calculated easily from laboratory results have shown predictive abilities. We investigated the prognostic values of the preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV) in patients with non-metastatic obstructive colorectal cancer (OCRC) and a self-expandable metallic stent inserted as a bridge to curative surgery.

METHODS

The subjects of this retrospective study were 86 patients with pathological stage I to III OCRC. We examined the associations of these biomarkers with short- and long-term outcomes.

RESULTS

Multivariate analyses revealed that a preoperative PLR < 149, SII < 597, and PIV < 209 were independently associated with poorer relapse-free survival (RFS) (P = 0.007, P < 0.001, and P = 0.002, respectively) and that a PIV < 209 was independently associated with poorer cancer-specific survival (P = 0.030). A platelet count < 240 was significantly associated with worse RFS, whereas the lymphocyte count was not. Pre-stenting PLR < 221 was an independent poor prognostic factor for RFS (P = 0.045).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that decreased preoperative PLR, SII, PIV, and pre-stenting PLR were associated with poorer RFS, contrary to the findings of most previous studies. Our results suggest that platelets and obstruction contributed primarily to the opposite relationships, which might provide new insight into the possible pathophysiology of platelet-tumor interactions generated in the OCRC environment.

Relationship between Systemic Inflammatory Markers, GLUT1 Expression, and Maximum 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma and Their Prognostic Significance

BACKGROUND

Factors involved in inflammation and cancer interact in various ways with each other, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation may have a prognostic value in cancer. Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) plays a pivotal role in glucose transport and metabolism and it is aberrantly expressed in various cancer types. We evaluated the differential expression of GLUT1, along with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and then analyzed their prognostic significance.

METHODS

A total of 163 patients with resectable NSCLC were included in this study. Tumor sections were immunohistochemically stained for GLUT1 and GLUT3. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max) was measured by preoperative FDG-PET, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) were derived from pretreatment blood count.

RESULTS

GLUT1 and GLUT3 was positively expressed in 74.8% and 6.1% of the NSCLC tissues, respectively. GLUT1 expression was significantly correlated with squamous cell carcinoma histology, poor differentiation, high pathologic stage, old age, male, smoking, and high SUV_max (>7) (all p < 0.05). The squamous cell carcinoma and smoker group also showed significantly higher SUV_max (both p < 0.001). Systemic inflammation markers, including NLR, PLR, and LMR, were positively correlated with high SUV_max (all p < 0.05). High GLUT1 expression, high SUV_max, high NLR, and low LMR, were significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients with NSCLC. However, in the multivariate survival analysis, LMR was an independent prognostic factor overall (HR 1.86, 95% CI 1.05-3.3) and for the stage I/II cohort (HR 2.3, 95% CI 1.24-4.3) (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Systemic inflammatory markers-NLR, PLR, and LMR are strongly correlated with the SUV_max and are indicators of aggressive tumor behavior. Specifically, LMR is a promising prognostic biomarker in NSCLC patients.

Preoperative serum interleukin-6 level in head and neck cancer reflects systemic inflammatory response and is a predictor of postoperative prognosis

BACKGROUND

The outcome of head and neck cancer has improved in recent years but survival is not yet satisfactory. Interleukin (IL)-6 is a representative inflammatory cytokine and inducer of systemic inflammatory response. It is not known whether preoperative serum level of IL-6 is a prognostic factor in head and neck cancer surgery.

METHODS

We studied 181 consecutive patients who underwent head and neck surgery with free tissue transfer reconstruction (HNS-FTTR) between September 2016 and December 2020. Whether preoperative serum IL-6 level was a prognostic risk factor was retrospectively investigated by univariate and multivariate analyses. We also investigated the association between preoperative IL-6 level and representative systemic inflammatory response markers.

RESULTS

The preoperative IL-6 ≥ 8 pg/mL group had a significantly worse prognosis than the preoperative IL-6 < 8 pg/mL group (overall survival [OS]: hazard ratio [HR] 3.098, P = 0.0006; disease-specific survival [DSS]: HR 3.335, P = 0.0008). In multivariate analysis, IL-6 ≥ 8 pg/mL and age ≥ 70 years were independent poor prognostic factors for OS (HR 1.860, P = 0.0435 and HR 1.883, P = 0.0233, respectively). The only independent poor prognostic factor for DSS was IL-6 ≥ 8 pg/mL (HR 2.052, P = 0.0329). Serum albumin was significantly lower and serum C-reactive protein and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were significantly higher in the IL-6 ≥ 8 pg/mL group than in the IL-6 < 8 pg/mL group (all P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative serum IL-6 level is an independent poor prognostic factor for both OS and DSS after HNS-FTTR, reflecting the degree of preoperative systemic inflammatory response.

Postoperative systemic inflammatory dysregulation and corticosteroids: a narrative review

In some patients, the inflammatory-immune response to surgical injury progresses to a harmful, dysregulated state. We posit that postoperative systemic inflammatory dysregulation forms part of a pathophysiological response to surgical injury that places patients at increased risk of complications and subsequently prolongs hospital stay. In this narrative review, we have outlined the evolution, measurement and prediction of postoperative systemic inflammatory dysregulation, distinguishing it from a healthy and self-limiting host response. We reviewed the actions of glucocorticoids and the potential for heterogeneous responses to peri-operative corticosteroid supplementation. We have then appraised the evidence highlighting the safety of corticosteroid supplementation, and the potential benefits of high/repeated doses to reduce the risks of major complications and death. Finally, we addressed how clinical trials in the future should target patients at higher risk of peri-operative inflammatory complications, whereby corticosteroid regimes should be tailored to modify not only the a priori risk, but also further adjusted in response to markers of an evolving pathophysiological response.

Utility of High-Sensitivity Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score in Cancer Prognosis: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

The suitability of the high-sensitivity modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (HS-mGPS) in cancer patients remains unknown. We performed a systematic database search from 1 January 2010 to 30 September 2022, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Selected studies reported the HS-mGPS and survival outcomes in cancer patients. The association between the HS-mGPS and survival outcomes was evaluated using a random-effects model and expressed as pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs. This meta-analysis evaluated 17 studies with a total of 5828 cancer patients. A higher HS-mGPS was found to be associated with an adverse OS (HR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.80-2.60), DSS (HR = 3.81; 95% CI: 2.03-7.17), and DFS (HR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.48-2.58; all p ≤ 0.001). The prognostic value of the HS-mGPS for the OS trended in a consistent direction after subgrouping and sensitivity analysis. In conclusion, the HS-mGPS serves as a valid prognostic biomarker for cancer patients, with a high HS-mGPS associated with adverse survival outcomes.

Sustained Systemic Inflammatory Response Predicts Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatic Resection

BACKGROUND

Preoperative systematic inflammatory response, represented by neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), and C-reactive protein-albumin ratio (CAR), has been associated with long-term outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the impact of sustained systematic inflammatory response after resection remains unclear.

METHODS

This study comprised 210 patients who had undergone primary hepatic resection for HCC between 2008 and 2018. Preoperative and postoperative NLR, LMR, and CAR were evaluated, and patients were then classified into three groups according to the status of each marker: persistently high inflammatory state (elevated group), preoperatively low inflammatory state (normal group), and preoperatively high but postoperatively low inflammatory state (normalized group). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were conducted to assess disease-free and overall survival, adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS

In multivariate analysis, sex (p = 0.002), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity (p = 0.002), serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) level ≥ 20 ng/mL (p < 0.001), multiple tumors (p < 0.001), microvascular invasion (p = 0.003), type of resection (p = 0.007), and elevated CAR (hazard ratio [HR] 2.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-3.73; p < 0.001) were independent and significant predictors of cancer recurrence, while sex (p = 0.05), HBsAg positivity (p = 0.03), serum AFP level ≥20 ng/mL (p = 0.009), multiple tumors (p = 0.03), microvascular invasion (p = 0.006), and elevated CAR (HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.13-3.91; p = 0.02) were independent predictors of overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Sustained elevated CAR may be an independent and significant indicator of poor long-term outcomes in patients with HCC after hepatic resection, suggesting the interplay of the host's inflammatory state and tumor recurrence and progression in HCC.

Tislelizumab for cervical cancer: A retrospective study and analysis of correlative blood biomarkers

Background

Tislelizumab is an anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody engineered to minimize binding to Fcγ receptors. It has been used to treat several solid tumors. However, its efficacy and toxicity, and the predictive and prognostic value of baseline hematological parameters in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer (R/M CC) receiving tislelizumab remain unclear.

Methods

We reviewed 115 patients treated for R/M CC with tislelizumab from March 2020 to June 2022 in our institute. The antitumor activity of tislelizumab was assessed using RECIST v1.1. Associations between the baseline hematological parameters and efficacy of tislelizumab in these patients were analyzed.

Results

With a median follow-up of 11.3 months (range, 2.2-28.7), the overall response rate was 39.1% (95% CI, 30.1-48.2) and the disease control rate was 77.4% (95% CI, 69.6-85.2). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 19.6 months (95% CI, 10.7 to not reached). The median overall survival (OS) was not reached. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade occurred in 81.7% of the patients and only 7.0% of the patients experienced grade 3 or 4 TRAEs. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses showed that the level of pretreatment serum C-reactive protein (CRP) was an independent risk factor for the response (complete or partial response) to tislelizumab and the PFS of R/M CC patients treated with tislelizumab (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.002, respectively). R/M CC patients with elevated baseline CRP levels had a short PFS (P = 0.0005). Additionally, the CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR) was an independent risk factor for the PFS and OS of R/M CC patients treated with tislelizumab (P = 0.001 and P = 0.031, respectively). R/M CC patients with an elevated baseline CAR had short PFS and OS (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0323, respectively).

Conclusions

Tislelizumab showed promising antitumor activity and tolerable toxicity in patients with R/M CC. The baseline serum CRP levels and CAR showed potential for predicting the efficacy of tislelizumab and the prognosis of R/M CC patients receiving tislelizumab.

Nutrition-inflammation marker enhances prognostic value to ECOG performance status in overweight or obese patients with cancer

BACKGROUND

Overweight or obese cancer patients are more likely to develop a proinflammatory status. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the nutrition-inflammation marker can provide additional prognostic information on top of well-established Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) in overweight or obese patients with cancer.

METHODS

A total of 1667 overweight or obese cancer patients were enrolled in this study. We assessed the prediction accuracy of 10 nutrition-inflammation markers by time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and elucidated their association with overall survival by the Kaplan-Meier method and a Cox model.

RESULTS

In this analysis, the majority of patients had a good performance status (ECOG-PS score ≤1; 88.3%). Both the area under ROC curves and the C-index of the lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) demonstrated that LCR was the most significant nutrition-inflammation marker correlated with survival. In patients with good ECOG-PS, a low LCR was significantly associated with poorer prognosisand enhanced the predictive ability of one-year mortality. For specific tumor types, a low LCR was an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer, upper gastrointestinal cancer, and colorectal cancer, and it tended to be a significant predictor for breast cancer. In addition, those patients with a combined low LCR and poorer ECOG-PS (ECOG-PS score >1) showed the worst prognosis.

CONCLUSION

The LCR is more strongly associated with overall survival than other nutrition-inflammation markers, and it is able to further detect patients with worse prognosis on top of ECOG-PS in overweight or obese patients with cancer.

Enhanced recovery after surgery program alleviates neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing gynecological surgery

Background

To evaluate the efficacy of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs on the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) of patients following gynecological surgery, a randomized controlled trial was performed to compare the ERAS programs with the conventional perioperative care programs. Furthermore, novel SIR markers could be identified to evaluate the ERAS programs of gynecological surgery.

Methods

Patients undergoing gynecological surgery were randomly allocated to either the ERAS group or the conventional group. The correlations between the elements of ERAS protocols and SIR markers following gynecological surgery were evaluated.

Results

A total of 340 patients who underwent gynecological surgery were enrolled (ERAS = 170; conventional = 170). First, we identified whether the ERAS programs after gynecological surgery reduced the perioperative difference between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Interestingly, first flatus time postoperatively, visual analog scale (VAS) score of patients was positively correlated with the perioperative difference NLR or PLR. Moreover, we discovered that the perioperative difference NLR or PLR was correlated with elements of ERAS protocol, including first sips of water, first semifluid diet postoperatively, pelvic drain duration, and out-of-bed time of patients.

Conclusion

We originally reveal that certain elements of ERAS programs alleviated SIR to operation. The implementation of ERAS programs enhances postoperative recovery after gynecological surgery via improving system inflammatory status. NLR or PLR could be the novel and inexpensive marker to assess ERAS programs in gynecological surgery.Clinical trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier, NCT03629626.

Prognostic value of myosteatosis and systemic inflammation in patients with resectable gastric cancer: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The association between systemic inflammation and myosteatosis upon diagnosis of gastric cancer (GC) and whether these factors could predict survival outcomes is not clear. Our aim was to explore the association between systemic inflammation and myosteatosis upon diagnosis of GC, specially whether the co-occurrence of these factors could predict survival outcomes.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

Computed tomography (CT) was performed at the level of the third lumbar vertebra for body composition analysis in 280 patients with GC. Myoesteatosis was defined as the lowest tertile of the muscle radiodensity distribution or based on clinical significance using optimal stratification analysis. Inflammatory indexes were measured, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratios.

RESULTS

Patients with low skeletal muscle (SM) radiodensity were more likely to be older than 65 years, have a higher body mass index and have diabetes. They also had higher intermuscular visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue areas and indexes. The highest tertile of SM radiodensity was associated with better disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.31, 0.84], ptrend = 0.020) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.49, 95% CI [0.29, 0.82], ptrend = 0.022). Patients with NLR > 2.3 and myosteatosis had the worst DFS and OS (HR = 2.77, 95% CI [1.54, 5.00], p = 0.001; HR = 3.31, 95% CI [1.79, 6.15], p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Co-occurrence of myosteatosis and inflammation increased disease progression and death risk by almost three times. These regularly obtained biomarkers might improve prognostic risk prediction in resectable GC.

The prognosis predictive score around primary debulking surgery (PPSP) improves diagnostic efficacy in predicting the prognosis of ovarian cancer

In recent years, the pretreatment inflammatory responses have proven to predict the prognosis, but no report exists analyzing the combined inflammatory response of the pre- and postsurgical treatment. The current study aims to extract the factors predicting the recurrence and create novel predictive scoring. This retrospective study was conducted at our institution between November 2006 and December 2020, with follow-up until September 2022. Demographic and clinicopathological data were collected from women who underwent primary debulking surgery. We created the scoring system named the prognosis predictive score around primary debulking surgery(PPSP) for progression-free survival(PFS). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess its efficacy in predicting PFS and overall survival(OS). Cox regression analyses were used to assess its time-dependent efficacy. Kaplan-Meier and the log-rank test were used to compare the survival rate. A total of 235 patients were included in the current study. The cut-off value of the scoring system was six. Multivariate analyses revealed that an advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics(FIGO) stage (p < 0.001 for PFS; p = 0.038 for OS), the decreased white blood cell count difference (p = 0.026 for PFS) and the high-PPSP (p = 0.004 for PFS; p = 0.002 for OS) were the independent prognostic factors. Cox regression analysis also supported the above results. The PPSP showed good prognostic efficacy not only in predicting the PFS but also OS of ovarian cancer patients comparable to FIGO staging.