The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios predict efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer

Two Hematological Markers Predicting the Efficacy and Prognosis of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Using Lobaplatin Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND

Our previous work indicated that the addition of lobaplatin to combined therapy with taxane and anthracycline can improve the pathological complete response rate of neoadjuvant therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and lengthen long-term survival significantly, but the therapeutic markers of this regimen are unclear.

METHODS

Eighty-three patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this post hoc analysis. We analyzed the association between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) before neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the efficacy and prognosis after treatment with docetaxel, epirubicin, and lobaplatin neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen. χ2 test and Cox regression were used to analyze the association between PLR and NLR with total pathologic complete response (tpCR), as well as the association between PLR and NLR with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS), respectively.

RESULTS

The tpCR rate in the PLR- group was 49.0% (25/51), which was significantly higher than that in the PLR+ group (25.0% [8/32], P = .032). The tpCR rate in the NLR- group was 49.1% (26/53), which was significantly higher than that in the NLR+ group (23.3% [7/30], P = .024). The tpCR rate of the PLR-NLR- (PLR- and NLR-) group was 53.7% (22/41), which was significantly higher than that of the PLR+/NLR+ (PLR+ or/and NLR+) group (26.1% [11/42]; P = .012). EFS and OS in the NLR+ group were significantly shorter than those in the NLR- group (P = .028 for EFS; P = .047 for OS). Patients in the PLR-NLR- group had a longer EFS than those in the PLR+/NLR+ group (P = .002).

CONCLUSION

PLR and NLR could be used to predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy with the taxane, anthracycline, and lobaplatin regimen for patients with TNBC, as patients who had lower PLR and NLR values had a higher tpCR rate and a better long-term prognosis.

The prognostic value of absolute lymphocyte count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for patients with metastatic breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is considered a potential prognostic marker in early breast cancer. However, the prognosis of absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and NLR in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has been reported in a few studies, and conclusions are still conflicting. This present manuscript aims to provide further solid evidence regarding the prognostic values of ALC and NLR in MBC patients.

Method

Eligible studies that reported the associations between ALC or NLR and MBC were included by searching relative electronic databases. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were used as outcome measures. The hazard ratio (HR) values and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the outcome measures were collected as effect sizes, and further analysis and discussion were conducted according to the pooled HR, subgroup analysis, publication bias, and interstudy heterogeneity.

Results

Twenty-nine studies comprising 3,973 patients with MBC were included. According to our findings, lower ALC was significantly associated with poorer prognosis of OS (HR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.68) and PFS (HR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.79), and greater NLR was associated with poorer OS (HR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.67) and PFS (HR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.42 to 2.35). Furthermore, the prognostic values of ALC and NLR in MBC were also observed in the subgroup analyses regarding cutoff values and ethnicities.

Conclusion

Low ALC and elevated NLR were observed to be significantly associated with adverse OS and PFS in MBC, indicating that ALC and NLR may act as potential prognostic biomarkers of MBC patients. Meanwhile, our results will also provide some novel evidence and research clues for the selection and development of clinical treatment strategies for MBC patients.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42021224114.

Efficacy and Safety of First-line Carboplatin-paclitaxel and Carboplatin-gemcitabine in Patients With Advanced Triple-negative Breast Cancer: A Monocentric, Retrospective Comparison

BACKGROUND

Platinum-based chemotherapy is widely used in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the most effective platinum-based combination in the first-line treatment setting remains unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We evaluated the efficacy of first-line carboplatin-paclitaxel (CP) or carboplatin-gemcitabine (CG) combinations in advanced TNBC patients treated between April 2007 and April 2021. CP and CG were compared in terms of progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and incidence of adverse events (AEs). Multivariable Cox Models were used to adjust the efficacy of CP versus CG for clinically relevant covariates.

RESULTS

Of 88 consecutive advanced TNBC patients receiving first-line carboplatin-based doublets, 56 (63.6%) received CP and 32 (36.4%) CG. After adjusting for clinically relevant variables, patients receiving CG had significantly better PFS when compared to CP-treated patients (HR: 0.49 (95% CI, 0.27-0.87), P value 0.014). Of note, CG was associated with better PFS only among patients previously treated with taxanes in the (neo)adjuvant setting (HR: 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21-0.75), but not in patients not exposed to taxanes (HR: 1.20; 95% CI, 0.37-3.88). CG was also independently associated with better OS when compared to CP (HR: 0.31 (95% CI: 0.15-0.64), P value 0.002). Overall, grade 3-4 AEs were more common in patients treated with CG than in patients treated with CP (68.8% vs. 21.4%, P value .009).

CONCLUSION

CG and CP are effective and well tolerated first-line platinum doublets in advanced TNBC patients. CG could be more effective than CP in patients previous exposed to taxanes despite worse toxicity profile.

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio as Predictive Factors for Mortality and Length of Hospital Stay after Cardiac Surgery

Background: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are widely accepted indices positively correlated with disease severity, progression, and mortality. In this study, we tested whether NLR and PLR could predict mortality and length of hospital stay (LOS) after cardiac surgery. Methods: NLR and PLR were calculated on days 0, 3, 5, and 7 postoperatively. A ROC curve was generated to assess their prognostic value; multivariate logistic analysis identified independent risk factors for 90-day mortality. Results: Analysis was performed on 179 patients’ data, 11 of whom (6.15%) died within 90 days. The discriminatory performance for predicting 90-day mortality was better for NLR7 (AUC = 0.925, 95% CI:0.865–0.984) with the optimal cut-off point being 7.10. NLR5 and PLR3 also exhibited a significant strong discriminative performance. Similarly, a significant discriminative performance was prominent for PLR3, NLR5, and NLR7 with respect to LOS. Moreover, NLR7 (OR: 2.143, 95% CI: 1.076–4.267, p = 0.030) and ICU LOS (OR:1.361, 95% CI: 1.045–1.774, p = 0.022) were significant independent risk factors for 90-day mortality. Conclusions: NLR and PLR are efficient predictive factors for 90-day mortality and LOS in cardiac surgery patients. Owing to the simplicity of determining NLR and PLR, their postoperative monitoring may offer a reliable predictor of patients’ outcomes in terms of LOS and mortality.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict Chinese breast cancer risk based on clinical serum biomarkers

Background: This study investigated and compared clinical serum biomarkers and developed a diagnostic nomogram for breast cancer. Methods: A total of 1224 breast cancer and 1280 healthy controls were enrolled. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors and a nomogram was developed. Discrimination, accuracy and clinical utility values were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic, Hosmer-Lemeshow, calibration plots, decision curve analysis and clinical impact plots. Results: carcinoembryonic antigen, CA125, CA153, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, fibrinogen and platelet distributing width were effectively identified to predict breast cancer. The nomogram showed the area under the curve of 0.708 and 0.710 in the training and validation set. Calibration plots, Hosmer-Lemeshow, decision curve analysis and clinical impact plots confirmed great accuracy and clinical utility. Conclusion: We developed and validated a nomogram that is effectively used for risk prediction of Chinese breast cancer.

The prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in de novo stage IV breast cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Background

The presence of a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been associated with increased mortality in several malignancies. And the majority of studies on breast cancer (BC) analyzed patients with early-stage. Fewer studies focused on metastatic BC (MBC). De novo stage IV BC with no prior treatment is more suitable for analyzing prognostic factors. Herein, we examined the prognostic value of baseline NLR in de novo stage IV BC patients.

Methods

We retrospectively screened the medical records of female patients who were diagnosed with de novo stage IV BC at Peking University Cancer Hospital between January 2011 and December 2020. All patients were followed up by telephone every 6 months. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimal cutoff value of NLR for progression-free survival (PFS). Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Correlations of PFS and overall survival (OS) with NLR and other clinicopathological factors were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analyses.

Results

A total of 128 patients between January 2011 and December 2020 were enrolled. 70 (54.7%) cases were hormone receptor (HR)-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, 79 (61.7%) patients had visceral metastasis and 67 (52.3%) patients had more than 2 metastatic sites. The cutoff values of NLR were 2.9, optimized by ROC curve analysis. Totals of 77 and 51 patients were assigned to the NLR-low (≤2.9) and NLR-high (>2.9) groups, respectively. Compared with NLR-high patients, the NLR-low patients had significantly longer median PFS (14.8 vs. 7.2 months; hazard ratio =1.791; P=0.003). The OS showed no significant difference (64.1 vs. 56.0 months, P=0.980). The patients with NLR-low had a higher level of peripheral CD3⁺ T cells (P=0.028) and a lower level of peripheral CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells (P=0.041). Patient samples with NLR-low also demonstrated higher levels of TILs than those with NLR-high (P=0.025).

Conclusions

The baseline NLR-high is associated with adverse PFS in patients with de novo stage IV BC. The NLR-high status may indicate immune suppression status, which can help identify patients with unfavorable prognosis and assist with physicians' treatment decision.

The pan-immune-inflammation value is associated with clinical outcomes in patients with advanced TNBC treated with first-line, platinum-based chemotherapy: an institutional retrospective analysis

Background

Advanced triple-negative breast cancer (aTNBC) has a poor prognosis; thus, there is a need to identify novel biomarkers to guide future research and improve clinical outcomes.

Objectives

We tested the prognostic ability of an emerging, complete blood count (CBC)-based inflammatory biomarker, the pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), in patients with aTNBC treated with first-line, platinum-based chemotherapy.

Design

This was a retrospective, monocentric, observational study.

Methods

We included consecutive aTNBC patients treated with platinum-based, first-line chemotherapy at our Institution, and for whom baseline (C1) CBC data were available. We collected CBC data early on-treatment, when available. PIV was calculated as: (neutrophil count × platelet count × monocyte count)/lymphocyte count. Patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced breast cancer (aBC) were included in a control, non-TNBC cohort.

Results

A total of 78 aTNBC patients were included. When evaluated as a continuous variable, PIV-C1 was associated with worse overall survival (OS; p < 0.001) and progression-free survival (PFS; p < 0.001). On the other hand, when PIV-C1 was assessed on the basis of its quantile distribution, patients with 'high PIV-C1' experienced worse OS [adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 4.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.22-8.99; adjusted p < 0.001] and PFS (adjusted HR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.08-3.80; adjusted p = 0.027) when compared to patients with 'low PIV-C1'. Higher PIV-C1 was also associated with primary resistance to chemotherapy. Similarly, a higher PIV calculated from CBC at C2D1 (PIV-C2) was associated with worse survival outcomes. We also created a PIV-based score combining information about both PIV-C1 and PIV-C2 and allowing the stratification of patients at low, intermediate, and high risk of death. No association was observed between PIV-C1 and clinical outcomes of HR+/HER2- aBC patients.

Conclusion

PIV has a promising prognostic discrimination ability in aTNBC patients treated with first-line, platinum-based chemotherapy. Both baseline and early on-treatment PIV are associated with clinical outcomes and may be exploited for creating PIV-based risk classifiers if further validated.

Clinico-Immunological Effects of a Single-Agent CDK4/6 Inhibitor in Advanced HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer Based on a Window of Opportunity Study

Background: Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6 i), abemaciclib, palbociclib, and ribociclib, have been FDA-approved for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2−negative (HER2−) advanced breast cancer (aBC). This targeted therapy has revived hope in those aBC patients who did not respond to standard therapies. Interestingly, when administered as a single agent, CDK4/6 modulated several peripheral blood cells after a short-course treatment of 28 days. However, the impact of these immune effects has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Methods: We administered abemaciclib, palbociclib, and ribociclib monotherapy to 23 patients with HR+/HER2− metastatic breast cancer. The aim is to investigate the impact of on-treatment modifications on peripheral blood cells and their composite scores in patients after a 28-day course of CDK4/6 i alone. Results: In the current study, we observed a significant decrease in neutrophils (p-value < 0.001) for patients treated with abemaciclib, palbociclib, and ribociclib. An overall decrease of Tregs was observed and potentially linked to palbociclib treatment. The neutrophile to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio was also decreased overall and potentially linked to abemaciclib and palbociclib treatment. Platelets were decreased in patients administered with abemaciclib. Notably, the radiometabolic response was available only for those patients treated with ribociclib and abemaciclib, and only those lesions treated with ribociclib reached statistical relevance. Conclusions: Our study strongly supports the notion that CDK4/6 inhibitors induce tumour immune modulation. N/L ratio and platelet levels decreased due to treatment. Future studies should test whether patients would benefit from immunomodulators in association with CDK4/6 agents in a larger clinical trial. Moreover, the CDK4/6-induced immune modulation could also be considered a potential predictive clinical factor in HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer.

Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

This study aimed to examine the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and other clinicopathological features in HER2+ MBC patients who received first-line anti-HER2 therapy. A total of 129 patients were assigned to NLR-low and NLR-high groups based on a cutoff value of 3.0 at baseline. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and gene mutations in circulating tumor DNA were analyzed by flow cytometry and Next-generation sequencing, respectively. Survival was evaluated by the Kaplan−Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Of the 129 patients, 77 and 52 were assigned to the NLR-low (≤3) and NLR-high (>3) groups, respectively. Compared with NLR-high patients, the NLR-low patients had significantly longer median progression-free survival (PFS) (11.7 vs. 7.7 months) (p = 0.001, HR = 2.703 95% CI 1.543−4.736 and overall survival (OS) (37.4 vs. 28.7 months) (p = 0.044, HR = 2.254 95% CI 1.024−4.924). Furthermore, this association was independent of metastatic sites or estrogen receptor status. Peripheral blood CD3+ (p = 0.034) and CD4+ (p = 0.010) T cell numbers were significantly higher in the NLR-low group than the NLR-high group. The mutational profile of MBC was generally similar between the two groups. Baseline NLR was a prognostic factor of PFS and OS for patients with HER2+ MBC in the first-line setting. These results may facilitate the selection of patients who will benefit most from anti-HER2 treatment.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio associated with the clinicopathological features and prognostic value of breast cancer: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The association of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with the clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with breast cancer was evaluated.

METHOD

Related studies were searched from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science up to July 1, 2021. Then, basic characteristic and prognostic data were extracted from the included studies. We synthesized and compared primary outcomes such as overall survival. Subgroups analyses in pathology, geographical area, follow-up time, and sample size were conducted. The pooled hazard ratio (HR), odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) served as measures to assess the relationship of PLR with prognosis and clinicopathological features of breast cancer patients. After literature retrieval and selection, 20 studies with 7484 patients were included in this meta-analysis.

RESULTS

High PLR was significantly related to poor overall survival (HR = 1.88; 95% CI 1.61, 2.19; P < 0.001) in breast cancer patients. Also, high PLR was associated with lymph node metastasis (LNM) (OR = 1.82; 95% CI 1.32, 2.52; P < 0.001), advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (OR = 1.89; 95% CI 1.25, 2.87; P = 0.003), and distant metastasis (OR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.14, 2.72; P = 0.01) in breast cancer. The stability and reliability of results in this meta-analysis were confirmed by sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSION

Elevated PLR is related to a poor prognosis and a higher risk of LNM, advanced TNM stage, and distant metastasis in breast cancer patients. Therefore, PLR can be identified as a biomarker with potential prognostic value in breast cancer.

Circulating inflammatory cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer: Implications for treatment

Adaptive and innate immune cells play a crucial role as regulators of cancer development.

Inflammatory cells in blood flow seem to be involved in pro-tumor activities and contribute to breast cancer progression. Circulating lymphocyte ratios such as the platelet-lymphocytes ratio (PLR), the monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are new reproducible, routinely feasible and cheap biomarkers of immune response. These indexes have been correlated to prognosis in many solid tumors and there is growing evidence on their clinical applicability as independent prognostic markers also for breast cancer.

In this review we give an overview of the possible value of lymphocytic indexes in advanced breast cancer prognosis and prediction of outcome. Furthermore, targeting the immune system appear to be a promising therapeutic strategy for breast cancer, especially macrophage-targeted therapies. Herein we present an overview of the ongoing clinical trials testing systemic inflammatory cells as therapeutic targets in breast cancer.

Higher platelet counts correlate to tumour progression and can be induced by intratumoural stroma in non-metastatic breast carcinomas

BACKGROUND

Platelets support tumour progression. However, their prognostic significance and relation to circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in operable breast cancer (BrCa) are still scarcely known and, thus, merit further investigation.

METHODS

Preoperative platelet counts (PCs) were compared with clinical data, CTCs, 65 serum cytokines and 770 immune-related transcripts obtained using the NanoString technology.

RESULTS

High normal PC (hPC; defined by the 75th centile cut-off) correlated with an increased number of lymph node metastases and mesenchymal CTCs in the 70 operable BrCa patients. Patients with hPC and CTC presence revealed the shortest overall survival compared to those with no CTC/any PC or even CTC/normal PC. Adverse prognostic impact of hPC was observed only in the luminal subtype, when 247 BrCa patients were analysed. hPC correlated with high content of intratumoural stroma, specifically its phenotype related to CD8+ T and resting mast cells, and an increased concentration of cytokines related to platelet activation or even production in bone marrow (i.e. APRIL, ENA78/CXCL5, HGF, IL16, IL17a, MDC/CCL22, MCP3, MMP1 and SCF).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative platelets evaluated alone and in combination with CTCs have prognostic potential in non-metastatic BrCa and define patients at the highest risk of disease progression, putatively benefiting from anti-platelet therapy.

Preoperative Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers Are Independent Predictors of Disease Recurrence in ER+ HER2- Early Breast Cancer

The host's immune system plays a crucial role in determining the clinical outcome of many cancers, including breast cancer. Peripheral blood neutrophils and lymphocytes counts may be surrogate markers of systemic inflammation and potentially reflect survival outcomes. The aim of the present study is to assess the role of preoperative systemic inflammatory biomarkers to predict local or distant relapse in breast cancer. In particular we investigated ER+ HER2- early breast cancer, considering its challenging risk stratification. A total of 1,763 breast cancer patients treated at tertiary referral Breast Unit were reviewed. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte (LMR) ratios were assessed from the preoperative blood counts. Multivariate analyses for 5-years locoregional recurrence-free (LRRFS), distant metastases-free (DMFS) and disease-free survivals (DFS) were performed, taking into account both blood inflammatory biomarkers and clinical-pathological variables. Low NLR and high LMR were independent predictors of longer LRRFS, DMFS and DFS, and low PLR was predictive of better LRRFS and DMFS in the study population. In 999 ER+ HER2- early breast cancers, high PLR was predictive of worse LRRFS (HR 0.42, p=0.009), while high LMR was predictive of improved LRRFS (HR 2.20, p=0.02) and DFS (HR 2.10, p=0.01). NLR was not an independent factor of 5-years survival in this patients' subset. Inflammatory blood biomarkers and current clinical assessment of the disease were not in agreement in terms of estimate of relapse risk (K-Cohen from -0.03 to 0.02). In conclusion, preoperative lymphocyte ratios, in particular PLR and LMR, showed prognostic relevance in ER+ HER2- early breast cancer. Therefore, they may be used in risk stratification and therapy escalation/de-escalation in patients with this type of tumor.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis in patients with advanced serous ovarian carcinoma

The role of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting sensitivity to chemotherapy and prognosis has attracted great interest in several types of cancer. In the present study, the correlation between pre-chemotherapy NLR and sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis in patients with advanced serous ovarian carcinoma was examined by retrospectively reviewing the medical records of 50 patients with stage III-IV serous ovarian carcinoma from 2005 to 2012. Patients were divided into high-NLR (32 patients) and low-NLR (18 patients) groups according to a cutoff value of 2.47. This cutoff was calculated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve that demonstrated 84% specificity and 60% sensitivity. Patient characteristics, sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis were subsequently compared. The results revealed no significant difference in patient characteristics between the two groups. In the low-NLR group, 14 of 18 patients (77.8%) were sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy, whereas 11 of 32 were sensitive in the high-NLR group (34.4%) (P=0.007). Overall and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly longer in the low-NLR than in the high-NLR group (P=0.013 and P=0.043, respectively). The current results suggested that pre-chemotherapeutical NLR may serve as a biomarker of sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy and prognosis in patients with advanced serous ovarian carcinoma.

Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Is Associated With Favorable Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: A Study on 120 Patients

Introduction

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly heterogeneous, but still most of the patients are treated by the anthracycline/taxane-based neoadjuvant therapy (NACT). Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a strong predictive and prognostic biomarker in TNBC, however are not always available. Peripheral blood counts, which reflect the systemic inflammatory/immune status, are easier to obtain than TILs. We investigated whether baseline white cell or platelet counts, as well as, Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) or Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) could replace baseline TILs as predictive or prognostic biomarkers in a series of TNBC treated by standard NACT.

Patients and Methods

One hundred twenty patients uniformly treated by FEC/taxane NACT in a tertiary cancer care center were retrospectively analyzed. The presence of pathological complete response (pCR: ypT0/Tis, ypN0) or the presence of pCR and/small residual disease (ypT0/Tis/T1ab, ypN0) were considered as good responses in data analysis. Baseline/pre-NACT blood count, NLR, PLR and TILs were evaluated as predictors of response, distant recurrence rate and distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS).

Results

TILs ≥30% and ≥1.5% were best predictors of pCR and distant recurrence risk, respectively (p = 0.007, p = 0.012). However, in this cohort, pCR status was not significantly associated with recurrence. Only the ensemble of patients with pCR and small residual disease had lower recurrence risk and longer survival DRFS (p = 0.042, p = 0.024, respectively) than the rest of the cohort (larger residual disease). The only parameter which could predict the pCR/small residual disease status was PLR: patients with values lower than 133.25 had significantly higher chance of reaching that status after NACT (p = 0.045). However, no direct correlation could be established between baseline PLR and metastatic recurrence. No correlation either was found between TIL and individual blood counts, or between TILs and NLR or PLR.

Conclusion

In this cohort, TILs retained their pCR predictive value; however PLR was a better predictor of the ensemble of responses which had good outcome in terms of less distant recurrences or longer DRFS (pCR or small residual disease). Thus, baseline PLR is worth further, prospective investigation together with baseline TILs, as it might indicate a good TNBC response to NACT when TILs are unavailable.

Role of Systemic Inflammatory Reaction in Female Genital Organ Malignancies - State of the Art

Systemic inflammatory reaction (SIR) is an unfavorable prognostic factor in many malignancies and has a role in all stages of the neoplastic process: initiation, promotion, and disease progression. Analysis of SIR can be performed by assessing indicators (eg, lymphocyte-to-neutrophil, platelet-to-lymphocyte, and monocyte-to-neutrophil ratios) and products of neutrophils and lymphocytes (ie, the systemic immune-inflammation index), or by examining the relationship between levels of C-reactive protein and albumin (based on the Glasgow Prognostic Score, modified Glasgow Prognostic Score, and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio). Risk stratification is essential in the clinical management of cancer; hence, the evaluation of these factors has potential applications in the clinical management of patients with cancer and in the development of new therapeutic targets. This review summarizes the current knowledge on SIR indicators and presents their clinical utility in malignancies of the female genital organs.

The Pan-Immune-Inflammation-Value Predicts the Survival of Patients with Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer Treated with First-Line Taxane-Trastuzumab-Pertuzumab

Simple Summary

Although taxane-trastuzumab-pertuzumab combinations in the first-line treatment setting significantly improved clinical outcomes in patients with Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 positive (HER2+) advanced breast cancer (aBC), their clinical efficacy is highly heterogeneous, and reliable biomarkers of benefit from this treatment are lacking. Different peripheral blood parameters have emerged as prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer, but their predictive role in HER2+ BC patients receiving dual anti-HER2 blockade remains unclear. In this work, we identified the Pan-Immune-Inflammatory Value (PIV), a recently defined parameter, taking into account peripheral blood neutrophil, platelet, monocyte and lymphocyte counts, as an independent predictor of worse OS in patients with HER2+ aBC receiving first line trastuzumab-pertuzumab biochemotherapy. The PIV outperforms other well-known peripheral blood parameters, thus potentially representing a new tool to improve the prognostic stratification of HER2+ aBC patients in a first-line treatment setting.

Abstract

Different peripheral blood parameters have emerged as prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer (BC), but their predictive role in Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 positive (HER2+) advanced BC (aBC) patients receiving dual anti-HER2 blockade remains unclear. We evaluated the impact of the Pan-Immune-Inflammatory Value (PIV), defined as the product of peripheral blood neutrophil, platelet, and monocyte counts divided by lymphocyte counts, on the prognosis of HER2+ aBC patients treated with first line trastuzumab-pertuzumab-based biochemotherapy. We also evaluated the association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and clinical outcomes. Cox regression models were used to estimate the impact of these variables, as well as of other clinically relevant covariates, on patient survival. We included 57 HER2+ aBC patients treated with taxane-trastuzumab-pertuzumab in our Institution. High baseline MLR, PLR, and PIV were similarly predictive of worse PFS at univariate analysis, but only high PIV was associated with a trend toward worse PFS at multivariable analysis. Regarding OS, both high PIV and MLR were associated with significantly worse patient survival at univariate analysis, but only the PIV was statistically significantly associated with worse overall survival at multivariable analysis (HR 7.96; 95% CI: 2.18–29.09). Our study reveals the PIV as a new and potent predictor of OS in HER2+ aBC patients treated with first line trastuzumab-pertuzumab-containing biochemotherapy. Prospective studies are needed to validate this new prognostic parameter in HER2+ aBC.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is an independent prognostic marker for feline mammary carcinomas

Blood leukocyte counts and respective derived ratios have been described as potential prognostic markers in several tumours in veterinary oncology. This study aimed to evaluate peripheral blood leukocyte subpopulations and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as prognostic factors for feline mammary carcinomas (FMC). Medical records from cats diagnosed with FMC between 2017 to 2019 were reviewed. Cats were included if fully staged, classified as WHO stage I to III, and submitted to mastectomy. Cats were excluded if they had evidence of other diseases. Forty-nine cats were included. The study endpoints were disease-free interval (DFI) and tumour-specific survival (TSS). The median DFI and TSS were 389 days and 528 days respectively. In the univariate analysis, higher values of total white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count (NEU) and NLR were identified as significant prognostic factors for both endpoints (P < .05). On the multivariate analysis, NLR remained an independent prognostic factor for TSS (P = .024). In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the estimated cut-off for WBC was 8.49 × 10⁹ /L (DFI and TSS); for NEU was 4.62 × 10⁹ /L (DFI) and 6.65 × 10⁹ /L (TSS) and for NLR was 2.46. These cut-offs were significant prognostic factors for DFI and TSS (P < .05). NLR cut-off remained an independent prognostic factor for both DFI (P = .032) and TSS (P = .043) in the multivariable analysis. Our results suggest that NLR, NEU, and WBC can be important non-invasive presurgical prognostic markers, and that NLR is an independent prognostic marker for FMC. Prospective studies are warranted to validate its clinical use.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts early mortality in females with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine the utility of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a biomarker for predicting early-mortality (<2 years) among females with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC).

METHODS

We reviewed 118 medical records of females with mTNBC. The cut-off value for the NLR (<2.5 and ≥2.5) was determined with receiver operating characteristic curves (area under the curve: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62-0.85). Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the Log-rank test. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify the risk of mortality at two years. Moreover, we performed sensitivity analyses with different cut-off values and a subgroup analysis in females that only received chemotherapy.

RESULTS

The median follow-up was 24 months. Females with NLR ≥2.5 had a poor overall survival compared to females with NLR <2.5 (6% vs. 28%, p<0.001) at two years. This outcome remained when we stratified for females that only received chemotherapy (8% vs. 36%, p = 0.001). Multivariate analyses identified NLR ≥2.5 as a poor prognostic risk factor for mortality in the entire population (HR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.32-3.39) and among females that received chemotherapy (HR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.46-4.92).

CONCLUSION

The NLR is an accessible and reliable biomarker that predicts early mortality among females with mTNBC. Our results suggest that females with high NLR values have poor prognosis despite receiving standard chemotherapy. Health providers should evaluate the possibility to enroll these patients in novel immunotherapy trials.

The Dichotomous Role of Bone Marrow Derived Cells in the Chemotherapy-Treated Tumor Microenvironment

Bone marrow derived cells (BMDCs) play a wide variety of pro- and anti-tumorigenic roles in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and in the metastatic process. In response to chemotherapy, the anti-tumorigenic function of BMDCs can be enhanced due to chemotherapy-induced immunogenic cell death. However, in recent years, a growing body of evidence suggests that chemotherapy or other anti-cancer drugs can also facilitate a pro-tumorigenic function in BMDCs. This includes elevated angiogenesis, tumor cell proliferation and pro-tumorigenic immune modulation, ultimately contributing to therapy resistance. Such effects do not only contribute to the re-growth of primary tumors but can also support metastasis. Thus, the delicate balance of BMDC activities in the TME is violated following tumor perturbation, further requiring a better understanding of the complex crosstalk between tumor cells and BMDCs. In this review, we discuss the different types of BMDCs that reside in the TME and their activities in tumors following chemotherapy, with a major focus on their pro-tumorigenic role. We also cover aspects of rationally designed combination treatments that target or manipulate specific BMDC types to improve therapy outcomes.

High fibrinogen-albumin ratio index predicts poor prognosis for lung adenocarcinoma patients undergoing epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatments

Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKIs) have become the preferred therapy as first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients harboring sensitizing EGFR mutations. However, the prognostic indicators are limited. The present study aimed to assess the prognostic value of immune-inflammation factors, fibrinogen-albumin ratio index (FARI), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in EGFR-Mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients receiving first-generation EGFR-TKIs treatment.194 patients were included in this retrospective analysis. FARI was calculated as fibrinogen / albumin. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the optimal cut-off value for FARI, NLR, and PLR to progression free survival (PFS). Univariate and multivariate survival analysis were performed to identify factors correlated with PFS and overall survival (OS).Applying cut-offs of ≥0.08 (FARI), ≥3.28 (NLR), and ≥273.85 (PLR), higher FARI or NLR was associated with worse Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) (P = .018, .002, respectively), and there were more males in high NLR group (P = .043). In univariate analysis, ECOG PS status, NLR, PLR, and FARI were significantly associated with PFS (P = .017, .004, <.001, .001, respectively) as well as OS (P < .001, = .001, .002, .023, respectively). In multivariate analysis, PLR (hazard ratios [HR] 1.692; 95% CI 1.054-2.715; P = .029) and FARI (HR 1.496; 95% CI 1.031-2.172; P = .034) were independent prognostic factors for PFS. While only ECOG PS status (HR 2.052; 95% CI 1.272-3.310; P = .003) was independently correlated with OS.FARI is independently associated with PFS in EGFR-Mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients receiving first-line EGFR-TKIs treatment.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic marker in metastatic gallbladder cancer

BACKGROUND

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been used as an inflammation based prognostic marker for various malignancies. This study evaluated the association between NLR and overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic gallbladder cancer (GBC) METHODS: An optimal cut off point for NLR was identified by plotting spline-based hazard ratio curves to identify a threshold effect and patients were divided into two groups, ≥5 or <5. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted for NLR≥5 and NLR<5 and OS between the two groups.

RESULTS

Of the 231 patients included, 138 (60%) had NLR <5 and 93 (40%) had NLR ≥5. There were no significant differences noted in gender, race, and administration of chemotherapy between the two groups. On univariable analysis, patients with NLR ≥5 had a significantly poor OS compared to those with NLR <5 (Median OS: 3.6 vs 8.7 months, p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, adjusting for age, performance status, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, platelet count and no administration of chemotherapy, NLR of ≥5 was associated with a worse OS compared to NLR <5 (HR: 1.70, 95%CI:1.20-2.39, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The current study demonstrates that NLR ≥5 is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients with metastatic GBC.

Inflammatory Blood Markers as Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Early Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Simple Summary

Predictive and prognostic factors are necessary to evaluate the future of women with early breast cancer. Inflammatory blood markers such as neutrophil to lymphocytes ratio and platelet to lymphocytes ratio have been reported to be a predictive factor for pathological complete response and a prognostic factor in breast cancer, with conflicting results. Here we evaluate these inflammatory blood markers in patients with early breast cancer receiving neo adjuvant chemotherapy since neo adjuvant treatment is more and more developed in early breast cancer.

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory blood markers, such as neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), have been reported as putative prognostic factors for survival and predictive factors for pathological complete response and toxicity in cancers, however with conflicting results. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of 280 patients with early breast cancer receiving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy between 2005 and 2013 in our center. Neutrophil count, lymphocyte count and platelet count before treatment were collected as well as data on pathological complete response, toxicity, recurrence and survival. Results: In multivariate analysis, high PLR was an independent prognostic factor for relapse-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.15–3.16; p = 0.012) and for shorter overall survival (HR = 1.83; 95%CI = 1.03–3.24; p = 0.039). NLR was an independent predictive factor for febrile neutropenia (HR = 0.28; 95%CI = 0.13–0.58; p = 0.001). In triple negative breast cancer molecular subtype, low white blood cell count (<6.75 G/L) was predictive for a higher pathological complete response rate (odds ratio [OR] = 0.29; 95%CI = 0.14–0.61; p < 0.01). Conclusion: In the present study, PLR was found as an independent prognostic factor for survival, while NLR was an independent predictive factor for febrile neutropenia.

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio as Prognostic and Predictive Factor in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review

Inflammatory blood markers (IBM), such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), have emerged as potential prognostic factors in various cancers, including breast cancer (BC), potentially allowing an easy, minimally invasive evaluation of a given cancer's prognosis and treatment outcome. We report here a systematic overview of the published data evaluating NLR as a prognostic factor or predictive factor for pathological complete response (PCR) and toxicity in early and advanced BC. A total of 45 articles were identified. NLR was found to be an independent prognostic factor for survival in most of the adjuvant treatment studies. However, no significant correlation was found between survival and NLR for early BC patients receiving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and advanced BC patients. Most studies failed to find a significant correlation between NLR and PCR after NACT. Finally, some data showed that IBM could be predictive of chemotherapy-related toxicity.

Oral Capecitabine-Vinorelbine is Associated with Longer Overall Survival When Compared to Single-Agent Capecitabine in Patients with Hormone Receptor-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer

Background: Single-agent capecitabine (C) is a moderately effective chemotherapeutic compound in the treatment of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (mBC). The capecitabine-vinorelbine (CV) combination is also used due to a good tolerability profile, but no studies have demonstrated its superiority over single-agent C. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis to compare overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and incidence of adverse events (AEs) in patients with HER2-negative mBC treated with CV vs. single-agent C. Results: Out of 290 patients included in this study, 127 (43.8%) received single-agent C, while 163 (56.2%) patients were treated with CV. Median PFS was similar in patients treated with single-agent C or CV, while CV was associated with significantly longer OS in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) BC. This OS advantage was confirmed at multivariable analysis also after propensity score-based matching of patients according to relevant clinical or tumor characteristics. When compared with single-agent C, CV was associated with higher incidence of G3/G4 and any-grade nausea/vomiting, diarrhea and increased transaminases. Conclusions: While prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings, the potential OS advantage of CV over single-agent C in HR+ mBC patients must be weighed against a significantly higher incidence of AEs.

The Research Progress on the Prognostic Value of the Common Hematological Parameters in Peripheral Venous Blood in Breast Cancer

Breast carcinoma is one of the most malignant tumors, severely influencing the physical and mental health of people. The latest epidemiological and clinical studies have found that breast tumor and inflammation are determinate relationships with each other. Inflammation is an essential component of the tumor microenvironment, and the change of inflammatory cells might influence tumor progression, such as neoplastic cell proliferation, migration, invasion, the collapse of antitumor immunity, metastasis and so forth. Peripheral blood tests at the time of diagnosis and treatment can reflect inflammatory conditions within the neoplasm. Evaluation of peripheral blood parameters including white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, platelet counts, as well as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (d-NLR) (neutrophil count divided by the result of white blood cell count minus neutrophil count), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), which are indicators of systematic inflammatory response, have been widely proposed as prognostic factors for many malignancies. To intensively study the relationship between the common markers in peripheral blood and the treatment or prognosis of breast cancer will have critical clinical significance and application prospect, and can provide useful information for the clinicians. Herein, we review the research progress in the prognostic role of the peripheral blood in breast cancer to provide a new method for the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in metastatic breast cancer is not an independent predictor of survival, but depends on other variables

The prognostic impact of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has been previously evaluated in early and metastatic mixed breast cancer cohorts or without considering other relevant prognostic factors. Our aim was to determine whether NLR prognostic and predictive value in MBC was dependent on other clinical variables. We studied a consecutive retrospective cohort of patients with MBC from a single centre, with any type of first line systemic treatment. The association of NLR at diagnosis of metastasis with progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Cox univariate and multivariate proportional hazard models. In the full cohort, that included 263 MBC patients, a higher than the median (>2.32) NLR was significantly associated with OS in the univariate analysis (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.00–1.83), but the association was non-significant (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.80–1.56) when other clinical covariates (performance status, stage at diagnosis, CNS involvement, visceral disease and visceral crisis) were included in the multivariate analysis. No significant association was observed for PFS. In conclusion, MBC patients with higher baseline NLR had worse overall survival, but the prognostic impact of NLR is likely derived from its association with other relevant clinical prognostic factors.

Prognostic value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio in predicting survival of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer receiving abiraterone acetate: An evidence-based case report and review of literature

Platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a candidate prognostic marker for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients receiving abiraterone acetate and evidence demonstrates that a high PLR is associated with poor survival. More studies are required to verify current findings and establish a definite cutoff point.

Decoding Immune Heterogeneity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Its Association with Systemic Inflammation

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype with limited therapeutic options. New opportunities are emerging from current comprehensive characterization of tumor immune infiltration and fitness. Therefore, effectiveness of current chemotherapies and novel immunotherapies are partially dictated by host inflammatory and immune profiles. However, further progress in breast cancer immuno-oncology is required to reach a detailed awareness of the immune infiltrate landscape and to determine additional reliable and easily detectable biomarkers. In this study, by analyzing gene expression profiles of 54 TNBC cases we identified three TNBC clusters displaying unique immune features. Deep molecular characterization of immune cells cytolytic-activity and tumor-inflammation status reveled variability in the local composition of the immune infiltrate in the TNBC clusters, reconciled by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes counts. Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a blood systemic parameter of inflammation evaluated using pre-surgical blood test data, resulted negatively correlated with local tumoral cytolytic activity and T cell–inflamed microenvironment, whereas tumor aggressiveness score signature positively correlated with PLR values. These data highlighted that systemic inflammation parameters may represent reliable and informative markers of the local immune tumor microenvironment in TNBC patients and could be exploited to decipher tumor infiltrate properties and consequently to select the most appropriate therapies.

Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio for breast cancer patients: An updated meta-analysis of 17079 individuals

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic effect of neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for patients with breast cancer (BC).

Methods

A literature search was performed by searching medical databases. Basic characteristics and prognostic data were extracted from included studies. Primary outcomes, such as overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS), were synthesized and compared. Subgroup analyses were performed according to pathology, geographical region, cut‐off value, and tumor progression.

Results

A total of 39 studies comprising 17079 BC patients were included in this meta‐analysis. Among them, 28 studies with 142 64 BC patients investigated predicting role of NLR for OS, showing elevated NLR were associated poor prognosis (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49‐2.13, P < 0.001). Twenty‐seven studies containing 115 04 patients explored the role of NLR in predicting DFS, showing elevated NLR was associated with poor DFS with HR of 1.60 (95% CI: 1.42‐1.96, P < 0.001). Twelve studies explored the role of PLR in predicting OS, showing patients with higher PLR were associated with a significantly worse prognosis with a pooled HR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.11‐1.57, P = 0.002). Eleven studies with 5013 patients shown patients with elevated PLR were associated shorter DFS (HR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.09‐1.86, P = 0.009). Subgroup analyses shown a greater magnitude of association between NLR and OS in triple‐negative BC patients than in HER2‐positive ones.

Conclusions

Our study suggested that elevated NLR and PLR were associated with poor OS as well as high risk of recurrence for BC patients. Subgroup analyses confirmed the prognostic effect of NLR and PLR in HER2‐positive BC patients. As easily accessible parameters, NLR and PLR should be identified as useful biomarkers in the management of BC.

The hematologic parameters in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with abiraterone acetate

Currently, there are no predictive markers of response to abiraterone. We calculated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) at baseline and at 4 and 12 weeks after initiation of abiraterone, and we evaluated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response every 4 weeks in 102 metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients treated with abiraterone either pre- or postchemotherapy. With a median follow-up was 24.0 months (range: 0.3–54.9), median overall survival (OS) was 20.8 months. High-NLR patients who remained high or who returned to low NLR after 4 and 12 weeks showed significantly worse OS than patients with low baseline NLR. NLR and prostate-specific antigen response to abiraterone was a significant predictor of OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with abiraterone delivered either pre- or postchemotherapy.

Peripheral Blood Markers Identify Risk of Immune-Related Toxicity in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors

BACKGROUND

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are now standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Unfortunately, many patients experience immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which are usually mild and reversible, but they require timely management and may be life threatening. No predictive markers of irAEs are available.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were evaluated in patients with NSCLC consecutively treated with ICIs. Prespecified cutoff values of NLR and PLR were used and related to outcome and onset of irAEs. A control group of patients with advanced NSCLC not receiving ICIs was included.

RESULTS

The study included 184 patients: 26 (14.1%) received pembrolizumab upfront, and 142 (77%) received ICIs (pembrolizumab, nivolumab or atezolizumab) after one or more lines of chemotherapy. The median number of ICIs cycles was six (range, 1-61). The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 4.8 (95% CI, 3.4-6.3) and 20.6 (95% CI, 14.7-26.5) months, respectively. Sixty patients (32.6%) developed irAEs, mainly grade 1-2 (65.0%), causing ICI interruption in 46 cases (25.0%). Low NLR and low PLR at baseline were significantly associated with the development of irAEs (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; p = .018 and OR, 2.8; p = .003, respectively). Multivariate analyses confirmed PLR as independent predictive marker of irAEs (OR, 2.3; p = .020).

CONCLUSION

NLR and PLR may predict the appearance of irAEs in non-oncogene-addicted aNSCLC, although this conclusion warrants prospective validation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

This study was designed to investigate the role of blood biomarkers in predicting the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer receiving immunotherapy. The results of the study suggest a potential predictive role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as markers for irAE development in this category of patients. These data provide rationale for an easy and feasible application to be validated in clinical practice.

Significance of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for progression-free survival of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer treated with trastuzumab emtansine

The efficacy of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is prolonged for some patients; however, the predictive factors remain unknown. We focused on a peripheral blood biomarker, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), regarding T-DM1 treatment efficacy. Fifty-three advanced or metastatic breast cancers treated with T-DM1 were retrospectively recruited from three institutes. The NLR in the peripheral blood was measured at baseline and after one cycle. The cutoff value of the NLR was set at median value 2.56. The progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with NLR-low at baseline (n = 26; median, not reached) was significantly better than that of patients with NLR-high (n = 27; median, 4.13 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.226; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.112–0.493; p = 0.0001). Longer overall survival was significantly associated with a low NLR (HR, 0.384; 95% CI, 0.170–0.910; p = 0.0296). In the subgroup analysis, patients with NLR-low consistently had longer PFS compared to those with NLR-high irrespective of the number of prior chemotherapy regimens, prior trastuzumab, visceral metastasis, estrogen receptor status, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) score. Although detailed mechanisms remain unknown, treatment efficacy of T-DM1 may be partly mediated by activation of the immune system. Low baseline NLR appears to be beneficial for treatment with T-DM1 in HER2-positive breast cancers.

Combination of peripheral neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio is predictive of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

The immune system seems to play a fundamental role in breast cancer responsiveness to chemotherapy. We investigated two peripheral indicators of immunity/inflammation, i.e. neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in order to reveal a possible relationship with pathological complete response (pCR) in patients with early or locally advanced breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We retrospectively analyzed 373 consecutive patients affected by breast cancer and candidates to NACT. The complete blood cell count before starting NACT was evaluated to calculate NLR and PLR. ROC curve analysis determined threshold values of 2.42 and 104.47 as best cut-off values for NLR and PLR, respectively. The relationships between NLR/PLR and pCR, along with other clinical-pathological characteristics, were evaluated by Pearson's χ 2 or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using a logistic regression model. NLR and PLR were not significantly associated with pCR if analyzed separately. However, when combining NLR and PLR, patients with a NLR^low/PLR^low profile achieved a significantly higher rate of pCR compared to those with NLR^high and/or PLR^high (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.22-4.27, p 0.009). Importantly, the predictive value of NLR^low/PLR^low was independent from common prognostic factors such as grading, Ki67, and molecular subtypes. The combination of NLR and PLR may reflect patients' immunogenic phenotype. Low levels of both NLR and PLR may thus indicate a status of immune system activation that may predict pCR in breast cancer patients treated with NACT.

May the change of platelet to lymphocyte ratio be a prognostic factor for T3-T4 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective study

Background

Many blood markers have been shown to predict the recurrence and survival of various malignancies, but the effects of surgery on the body's inflammatory levels may cause changes in these inflammatory markers. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the relationship between changes in platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and survival and recurrence in patients with T3-T4 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

Methods

Data of patients with T3-T4 HSCC were reviewed. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± SD and were compared using t test or Mann-Whitney U test. The covariate distributions were compared by Chi-square test. Survival curve was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Log-Rank test were performed to estimate the survival curve and significance of the difference in survival distribution between groups, respectively. The prognostic value was uncovered by univariate and multivariate Cox hazards analysis.

Results

The 413 consecutive patients with LSCC were reviewed. Of these, 362 patients who met the criteria were selected, multi-factor analysis found that pathological T classification(hazard ratio [HR] = 1.878; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.342–3.023; P<0.001), pathological N classification (HR = 1.212; 95% CI = 0.867–2.125; P< 0.001) and change of PLR (HR = 2.158; 95% CI = 1.332–2.889; P = 0.004) associated with postoperative recurrence of T3-T4 LSCC. In addition, the pathological T classification (HR = 1.901; 95% CI = 1.255–2.999; P<0.001), pathological N classification (HR = 1.244; 95% CI = 0.810–2.212; P<0.001) and change of PLR (HR = 2.011; 95% CI = 1.354–2.753; P = 0.001) associated with postoperative survival in patients with T3-T4 LSCC.

Conclusions

Results demonstrate that change in PLR may serve as a useful prognostic predictor for patients with T3-T4 LSCC.

Utility and Limitation of Preoperative Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Factor in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

The neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proposed to be a surrogate marker of inflammation and immunological status and to have prognostic value in various malignancies. This study was conducted to clarify the prognostic significance of preoperative NLR in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

We enrolled 135 patients with histologically-proven HCC who underwent initial curative hepatectomy. Based on the median NLR values, patients were divided into: NLR ≥ 2.0 (NLR-high, n = 69) and NLR < 2.0 (NLR-low, n = 66).

Results

In univariate analysis, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 59.8 % ± 6.7% and 75.6% ± 6.5% (P = 0.028) in the NLR-high and NLR-low groups, respectively. Furthermore, the 5-year disease specific survival rates were 68.6% ± 6.7%, and 81.2 ± 6.4% (P = 0.048) in the NLR-high and NLR-low groups, respectively.

Conclusion

Our results showed that high NLR was an independent predictor for OS in hepatectomy-treated HCC, suggesting that NLR may be a novel prognostic biomarker for HCC. On the other hand, NLR also has a limitation to predict postoperative prognosis of HCC patients by itself.

Pretreatment neutrophil/lymphocyte, platelet/lymphocyte, lymphocyte/monocyte, and neutrophil/monocyte ratios and outcome in elderly breast cancer patients

PURPOSE

Several studies have found an association between peripheral inflammatory cells and outcome. However, no study has explored their impact specifically in elderly patients. We have retrospectively examined pretreatment peripheral neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), and neutrophil/monocyte ratio (NMR) in 113 elderly breast cancer patients and correlated our findings with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

METHODS

All patients ≥ 65 years diagnosed from 2004 to 2018 with locally advanced breast cancer were included and classified as high vs low NLR, PLR, LMR, and NMR based on previously identified cutoffs. Estimated 1-, 3-, and 5-year DFS and OS were compared by Chi square analysis.

RESULTS

Among 104 evaluable patients, only PLR was significantly associated with estimated 3-year DFS (85.1% vs 63.6%; P = 0.04) and OS (89.3% vs 68.1%; P = 0.03). Among 69 patients with three or more years of follow-up, PLR (P = 0.05), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) (P = 0.01), polychemotherapy (P = 0.04), number of comorbidities (P = 0.02), polypharmacy (P = 0.005), and clinical stage (P = 0.03) were associated with 3-year DFS. Polypharmacy (OR 4.9; P = 0.02) and ALC (OR 4.6; P = 0.04) retained their significance in the multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

We have found an association between low PLR and longer DFS in elderly breast cancer patients that is in line with findings in patients with a wider range of ages. Our findings on NLR contrast with those of other studies, indicating a potential differential effect in elderly patients. In addition, the effect of polypharmacy on outcome in elderly patients warrants further investigation.