Prognostic role of platelet to lymphocyte ratio in hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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.

New Approaches Based on Inflammatory Indexes in the Evaluation of the Neoplastic Potential of Colon Polyps

Colorectal polyps, precursors to colorectal cancer (CRC), require precise identification for appropriate diagnosis and therapy. This study aims to investigate the differences in hematological and inflammatory markers, specifically the CALLY index, HALP score, and immuno-inflammatory indexes, between neoplastic and nonneoplastic polyps. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 758 patients aged 61.0 ± 11.8 who underwent polypectomy between June 2021 and May 2024. Patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma (n = 22) were excluded. The polyps were classified into neoplastic and nonneoplastic categories based on histopathological evaluation. The study compared the CALLY index, HALP score, and various inflammatory indexes between neoplastic and nonneoplastic polyps. Out of 758 polyps analyzed, 514 were neoplastic, and 244 were nonneoplastic. Neoplastic polyps exhibited significantly lower CALLY and HALP scores (p < 0.05) and higher immuno-inflammatory indexes (p < 0.05) compared to nonneoplastic polyps. Dysplasia status, polyp diameter, and sigmoid colon localization were significant factors in determining neoplastic growth potential. No significant differences were observed in polyp localization in the proximal and distal colon segments or in solitary versus multiple polyps. The CALLY and HALP scores and immuno-inflammatory indexes can serve as valuable markers for distinguishing neoplastic from nonneoplastic polyps. These indexes reflect underlying inflammatory and immune responses, highlighting their potential utility in the early detection and risk stratification of colorectal polyps. Integrating these markers into clinical practice may enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve patient management, leading to timely interventions and better outcomes for individuals at risk of CRC.

Decoding the Prognostic Significance and Therapeutic Implications of Inflammation-Based Scores in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Review

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer, posing a significant global health challenge with an increasing incidence. In recent years, multiple staging systems and scores have been proposed, emphasising the necessity for the development of precise prognostic tools. The well-documented etiological relationship between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis has prompted researchers to explore novel prognostic markers associated with the inflammatory status of HCC patients. This review summarises the current data about inflammation-based scores in the context of HCC. We discuss established scores like the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS) and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and others not as extensively studied, examining their utility in predicting survival outcomes and treatment response in HCC patients. Furthermore, we explore emerging scores, including the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and other lymphocyte-based scores, assessing their potential in refining risk stratification and guiding therapeutic decisions in the era of precision medicine. As research progresses and these scores undergo further refinement and integration into the evolving landscape of HCC management, they carry significant potential for improving patient outcomes.

Performance of eight predictive models for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation: A comparative study

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Liver transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with early hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. However, hepatocellular carcinoma recurs in approximately 15 % of individuals. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of predictive models for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 381 patients with HCC and evaluated the performance of the following models: R3-AFP score, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) model, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) nomogram, Pre-Model of Recurrence after Liver Transplantation (MORAL), Post-MORAL, and Combo MORAL models, Risk Estimation of Tumor Recurrence (RETREAT) model and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) model.

RESULTS

The R3-AFP score, UCLA nomogram, AFP model, RETREAT, Combo MORAL, and Post-MORAL models exhibited comparable AUROCs, ranging from 0.785 to 0.733. The AUROCs for the R3-AFP model and AFP model were superior to those of the Pre-MORAL and PLR models. The UCLA nomogram, RETREAT score, Combo MORAL model, and Post-MORAL model performed similarly to the first two models, but were only superior to the PLR model.

CONCLUSIONS

The R3-AFP model, UCLA nomogram, AFP model, RETREAT, Combo MORAL, and Post-MORAL models demonstrated a moderate predictive capacity for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence following transplantation. No significant differences were observed among these models in their ability to predict recurrence.

Preoperative Predictors of Early Recurrence After Liver Resection for Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Liver transplantation remains the optimal treatment for multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, due to resource constrains, other therapeutic modalities such as liver resection (LR), are frequently utilized. LR, however, has to be balanced against potential morbidity and mortality along with the risks of early recurrence leading to futile surgery. In this study, we evaluated preoperative factors, including inflammatory indices, in predicting early (< 1 year) recurrence in patients who underwent LR for multifocal HCC.

METHODS

This was a post hoc analysis of 250 consecutive patients with multifocal HCC who underwent LR.

RESULTS

After exclusion of 10 patients with 30-day/in-hospital mortality, 240 were included of which 134 (55.8%) developed early recurrence. Hepatitis B/C aetiology, 3/ > more hepatic nodules and elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) ≥ 200 ng/ml were significant independent preoperative predictors of early recurrence. The early recurrence rate was 72.1% when 2 out of 3 significant predictive factors were present. The conglomerate of all 3 factors predicted early recurrence of 100% with a statistically significant association between number of predictive factors and early recurrence (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Better patient selection via the use of preoperative predictive factors of early recurrence such as hepatitis B/C aetiology, ≥ 3 nodules and elevated AFP ≥ 200 ng/ml may assist in identifying patients in whom LR is deemed futile and improve resource allocation.

Prognostic nomograms for HBV-related BCLC 0-a stage hepatocellular carcinoma incorporating aspartate aminotransferase to albumin ratio

BACKGROUND

Curative hepatectomy is currently the first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the prognosis is still not optimistic. The prediction model for prognosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related BCLC 0-A stage HCC has not been well established. Therefore, we aimed to develop new nomograms to predict recurrence and survival in these patients.

METHODS

A total of 982 patients with HBV-related BCLC 0-A stage HCC who underwent curative hepatectomy at West China Hospital from February 2007 to February 2016 were retrospectively collected and randomly allocated to a training set and a validation set in a ratio of 4:1. Prognostic nomograms using data from the training set were developed using a Cox regression model and validated on the validation set.

RESULTS

We constructed nomograms based on independent factors for recurrence-free survival (RFS) (tumor size, satellite, microvascular invasion, capsular invasion, differentiation and aspartate aminotransferase to albumin ratio (ASAR)) and overall survival (OS) (gender, tumor size, satellite, microvascular invasion, differentiation, lymphocyte count, and ASAR). Compared with conventional HCC staging systems and other nomograms reported by previous literature, our ASAR integrated nomograms predicted RFS and OS with the highest C-indexes (0.682 (95%CI: 0.646-0.709), 0.729 (95%CI: 0.691-0.766), respectively) and had well-fitted calibration curves in the training set. Concurrently, the nomograms also obtained consistent results in the validation set. DCA revealed that our nomograms provided the largest clinical net benefits.

CONCLUSION

We first constructed ASAR integrated nomograms to predict the prognosis of HBV-related BCLC 0-A stage HCC patients after curative hepatectomy with good performance.

Preoperative Serum Markers and Risk Classification in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Accurate risk stratification selects patients who are expected to benefit most from surgery. This retrospective study enrolled 225 Japanese patients with intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (ICC) who underwent hepatectomy between January 2009 and December 2020 and identified preoperative blood test biomarkers to formulate a classification system that predicted prognosis. The optimal cut-off values of blood test parameters were determined by ROC curve analysis, with Cox univariate and multivariate analyses identifying prognostic factors. Risk classifications were established using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. CART analysis revealed decision trees for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) and created three risk classifications based on machine learning of preoperative serum markers. Five-year rates differed significantly (p < 0.001) between groups: 60.4% (low-risk), 22.8% (moderate-risk), and 4.1% (high-risk) for RFS and 69.2% (low-risk), 32.3% (moderate-risk), and 9.2% (high-risk) for OS. No difference in OS was observed between patients in the low-risk group with or without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, although OS improved in the moderate group and was prolonged significantly in the high-risk group receiving chemotherapy. Stratification of patients with ICC who underwent hepatectomy into three risk groups for RFS and OS identified preoperative prognostic factors that predicted prognosis and were easy to understand and apply clinically.

The Impact of a Preoperative Staging System on Accurate Prediction of Prognosis in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Background: Non-invasive biomarkers detected preoperatively are still inadequate for treatment decision making for patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). In this study, we analyzed preoperative findings to establish a novel preoperative staging system (PRE-Stage) for patients with ICC. Methods: The clinical data of 227 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed ICC following hepatectomy at five university hospitals were analyzed. Results: Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of survival revealed that a CRP−albumin−lymphocyte index < 3, central tumor location, and CA19-9 level > 40 U/mL were prognostic factors among the preoperatively obtained clinical findings (hazard ratios (HRs) of all three factors for disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS: 2.4−3.3 and 1.7−2.9; all p < 0.05). The PRE-Stage was developed using these three prognostic factors, and it was able to significantly predict DSS and DFS when the patients were stratified into four stages (p < 0.05). In addition, the PRE-Stage resulted in similar HRs as those of the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan (LCSGJ) stage (HRs for DSS: PRE-Stage, 1.985; LCSGJ stage, 1.923; HRs for DFS: LCSGJ stage, 1.909, and PRE-Stage, 1.623, all p < 0.05). Conclusion: The PRE-Stage demonstrated similar accuracy in predicting the prognosis of ICC as that of the LCSGJ stage, which is based on postoperative findings. The PRE-Stage may contribute to appropriate treatment decision making.

Superiority of CRP-albumin-lymphocyte index (CALLY index) as a non-invasive prognostic biomarker after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate whether a novel biomarker incorporating albumin, lymphocytes, and CRP can predict the prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy.

METHODS

Between January 2011 and December 2013, 384 patients who underwent hepatectomy in four university hospitals in Japan were investigated as a discovery cohort. The CRP-Albumin-Lymphocyte (CALLY index) was defined as (Albumin × Lymphocyte)/(CRP × 10⁴). Patients with a CALLY index ≥5 (n = 200) were compared to those with an index <5 (n = 184). Next, validation was performed using 267 patients from three other university hospitals (external validation cohort).

RESULTS

The number of TNM Stage III and IV patients was significantly higher in the CALLY <5 group than the ≥5 group (p = 0.003). There was a significant difference in the 5-year survival rate (CALLY ≥5: 71% vs. <5: 46%; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified the CALLY index as an independent factor of overall survival. Similarly, there was a significant difference in the 5-year survival rate between the CALLY ≥5 (73%) and <5 (48%) groups (p < 0.001), and the CALLY index was identified as an independent prognostic factor in the external validation cohort.

CONCLUSION

The CALLY index derived from CRP, albumin, and lymphocyte values is a promising predictive biomarker for postoperative prognosis of patients with HCC.

Prognostic significance of lncRNA DANCR expression in human cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Several studies demonstrated that lncRNA differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA (lncRNA DANCR) expression might have the potential capacity to predict the cancer prognosis; however, definite conclusion has not been obtained. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the prognostic value of lncRNA DANCR expression in cancers. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase were comprehensively searched for relevant studies. Studies meeting all inclusion standards were included into this meta-analysis. The analysis of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), or clinicopathological features was conducted. Total 11 studies containing 1154 cancer patients were analyzed in this meta-analysis. The results showed, compared with low lncRNA DANCR expression, high lncRNA DANCR expression was significantly associated with shorter OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.52–2.26; P<0.01) and DFS (HR = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.43–2.32; P<0.01) in cancers. Besides, high lncRNA DANCR expression predicted deeper tumor invasion (P<0.01), earlier lymph node metastasis (P<0.01), earlier distant metastasis (P<0.01), and more advanced clinical stage (P<0.01) compared with low lncRNA DANCR expression in cancer populations. High lncRNA DANCR expression was associated with worse prognosis compared with low lncRNA DANCR expression in cancers. LncRNA DANCR expression could serve as a prognostic factor of human cancers.

Cancer related nutritional and inflammatory markers as predictive parameters of immediate postoperative complications and long-term survival after hepatectomies

BACKGROUND

The overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and complications after liver resections is unsatisfactory. Cancer-related malnutrition and inflammation have an effect on survival but not studied/not clear on postoperative complications.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed prospectively maintained database of 309 patients. The outcome variables included complications in terms of Clavien-Dindo (CD) Score, OS and DFS; We studied effect of preoperative albumin globulin ratio (AGR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and dynamic change from pre-operative to postoperative value (Delta-AGR, Delta-NLR, Delta-PLR and Delta-APRI) on complications, OS and DFS.

RESULTS

Total 98 patients (31.71%) had postoperative complications. Fifty patients had CD 1 & 2 and 35 (11.33%) had CD 3 & 4, and 13 (4.12%) had mortality (CD 5). Low AGR, high NLR, high PLR and high Delta-AGR and high Delta-APRI predicted increased major complications. Preoperative high NLR predicted worse OS and low AGR predicted worse OS and DFS. Delta-APRI showed trends towards worse OS and DFS.

CONCLUSION

These serum inflammatory markers can predict immediate postoperative complications. Preoperative AGR and preoperative NLR can predict survival after liver resections. High Delta-AGR, which is a new entity, is predicting more postoperative complications and needs further detailed studies.

Critical appraisal of TNM versus HKU staging system for postoperative prognostic evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

The 8^th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor-node-metastasis staging system (AJCC 8^th) has been launched with modifications in T staging. The University of Hong Kong liver cancer staging system (HKUSS) has been proven to better categorize hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) into different T stages. This study aimed to compare the two systems’ predictive ability for HCC recurrence after primary surgical resection.

Methods

Patients who had primary, curative resection for HCC between 1989 and 2017 were reviewed. The Kaplan-Meier plot was used to estimate disease-free survival (DFS), and the log-rank test was used for survival comparison between subgroups. The two systems’ prediction of recurrence was evaluated by the Cox regression model.

Results

Totally 1,815 patients were included. With AJCC 8^th, the 5-year DFS was 58.9% for T1a, 52.3% for T1b, 30% for T2, 16.9% for T3, and 14.4% for T4. No survival difference was demonstrated between T1a and T1b (P=0.668) or between T3 and T4 (P=0.562). With HKUSS, the 5-year DFS was 57.7% for T1, 43.4% for T2, 28.9% for T3, and 15.7% for T4. The T staging in HKUSS showed significant survival differences (T1 vs. T2, T2 vs. T3, and T3 vs. T4; P<0.001). Using receiver operating characteristic curves to show the recurrence status in the two systems, HKUSS had the largest area under curve (AUC) (HKUSS: AUC =0.655, SE 0.014, P<0.001, 95% CI, 0.628–0.681; AJCC 8^th: AUC =0.652, SE 0.013, P<0.001, 95% CI, 0.625–0.677).

Conclusions

HKUSS showed better categorization of HCC. In the context of primary surgical resection, HKUSS may be more appropriate for stratification of patients with HCC with various T stages, and thus the choice of staging system when primary surgical resection is considered for patients of HCC.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of pretreatment mean platelet volume in cancer: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of pretreatment mean platelet volume (MPV) on cancer by using meta-analysis of published studies.

DESIGN

Meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

Relevant studies available before 22 December 2019 were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

All published studies that assessed the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of pretreatment MPV on cancer were included.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Studies were identified and extracted by two reviewers independently. The HR/OR and its 95% CIs of survival outcomes and clinicopathological parameters were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 38 eligible studies (41 subsets) with 9894 patients with cancer were included in the final meta-analysis. MPV level was not significantly associated with both overall survival (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.14) and disease-free survival (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.73) of patients with cancer. Neither advanced nor mixed-stage tumour patients showed significant association between MPV and overall survival (HR 1.36, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.94, HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.09). However, high MPV had the strongest relationship with poor overall survival (HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.08 to 3.41) in gastric cancer, followed by pancreatic cancer (HR 1.54; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.82). Whereas in the subgroup using receiver operating characteristic curve method to define cut-off values, low MPV was significantly related to poor overall survival (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.95). In addition, MPV had no significant association with age (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.02), sex (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.09), depth of cancer invasion (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.04) and tumour stage (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.07).

CONCLUSIONS

Pretreatment MPV level is of no clearly prognostic significance in cancers and no significant association with clinicopathological parameters of patients with cancers.

The prognostic significance of inflammation-based scores in patients with ampullary carcinoma after pancreaticoduodenectomy

Background

Growing evidence indicates that the systemic inflammatory response plays an important role in cancer development and progression. Several inflammatory markers have been reported to be associated with clinical outcomes in patients with various types of cancer. This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of inflammatory indexes in patients with ampullary cancer (AC) who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the data of 358 patients with AC who underwent PD between 2009 and 2018. R software was used to compare the area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUROCs) of the inflammation-based indexes, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS), prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and prognostic index (PI), in terms of their predictive value for survival. The survival differences of these indexes were compared by the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the prognostic factors of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results

The estimated 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS and DFS rates were 83.9, 65.8, and 55.2% and 58.0, 42.8, and 37.8%, respectively, for the entire cohort. The survival differences were significant in terms of OS and DFS when patients were stratified by these inflammation-based indexes. The comparisons of the AUROCs of these inflammation-based indexes illustrated that NLR and PI displayed the highest prognostic value, compared to the other indexes. When NLR and PI were combined, NLR-PI showed even higher AUROC values and was identified as a significant prognostic factor for OS and DFS.

Conclusion

Specific inflammatory indexes, such as NLR, PLR and dNLR, were found to be able to predict the OS or DFS of patients. As a novel inflammatory index, the level of NLR-PI, which can be regarded as a more useful prognostic index, exhibited strong predictive power for predicting the prognosis of patients with AC after the PD procedure.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios predict tumor size and survival in HCC patients: Retrospective study

Background

Inflammation is a recognized concomitant of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its indices are prognostically useful.

Aims

To evaluate two commonly used inflammatory indices, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), to examine their relationship to maximum tumor diameter (MTD) and to survival.

Methods

A database of 1024 prospectively-accrued HCC patients was examined, who had full baseline tumor parameter data, including CT scan information on HCC size and whose survival was known. Analyses of NLR and PLR were correlated to MDT and to survival. NLR and PLR cutoffs were calculated from receiver operator characteristic curves.

Results

Every MTD pair had significantly different PLR values, for MTD groups of groups <2/≥2, <3/≥3, <4/≥4, <5/≥5 cm. However there were few significant differences in NLR values. Logistic regression models of different MTD groups likewise showed significance for PLR. Patients with both low NLR and low PLR had the longest overall survival compared to all the other 3 combinations of NLR and PLR. In a Cox regression analysis, univariate models on NLR (≤3.02/>3.02) and PLR (≤6.82/>6.82) groups, showed significance for PLR, p = 0.034 and approaching significance for NLR, p = 0.057.

Conclusions

MTD pairs down to <2/≥2 cm showed significance for PLR, survival showed significance for PLR and almost for NLR.

•

In HCC studies, there is a need for tumor markers, especially in that 50% of patients who are AFP negative. Most HCCs present at a size that is too large for curative therapies.

•

We evaluated the commonly used NLR and PLR in relation to the smallest detectable HCC tumor size and to survival.

•

We found that PLR is elevated down to resec cm diameter tumors and both NLR and PLR relate to survival.

•

PLR thus has potential for widespread use in HCC prognostication and in screening patients with hepatitis or cirrhosis to identify small and thus potentially curable tumors.

A 2020 update on liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent liver tumor and is associated with chronic liver disease in 90% of cases. In selected cases, liver transplantation represents an effective therapy with excellent overall survival.

AREA COVERED

Since the introduction of Milan criteria in 1996, numerous alternative selection systems to LT for HCC patients have been proposed. Debate remains about how best to select HCC patients for transplant and how to prioritize them on the waiting list.

EXPERT OPINION

The selection of the best scoring system to propose in the context of LT for HCC is far to be identified. In this review, we analyze and categorize the various selection systems, assessing their roles in the different decisional phases.

Prognostic significance of red blood cell distribution width in gastrointestinal cancers: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Many publications showed red blood cell distribution width (RDW) might associate with the prognosis of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, however, the agreement has not been reached because of controversial results. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the prognostic value of RDW in GI cancers.

METHODS

Four common databases were comprehensively searched to look for relevant studies. The meta-analyses for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival were performed using hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), and the meta-analyses for clinical parameters were conducted using odd ratio and 95% CI.

RESULTS

A total of 13 studies involving with 3,509 patients with GI cancers were included into this study. The results showed, compared to patients with low RDW, patients with high RDW tended to have shorter OS (HR = 1.75, 95%CI = 1.57-1.94, P < .01) and disease-free survival (HR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.39-2.00, P < .01). High RDW was associated with larger tumor size (P < .01), worse differentiation (P = .02), deeper invasion (P < .01), earlier lymph node metastasis (P < .01), more advanced clinical stage (P < .01) and higher carcinoembryonic antigen level (P < .01) when compared to low RDW.

CONCLUSION

High RDW was significantly associated with worse prognosis of GI cancers, which could be regarded as a prognostic biomarker for GI cancers. More prospective studies with large sample size and long follow-up period should be carried out to determine the prognostic significance of RDW in GI cancers in future.

Development of a Novel Inflammation-Based Index for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The aim of current study was to (1) construct and validate a novel hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-specific inflammatory index; (2) compare the performances of the Integrated Liver Inflammatory Score (ILIS) to existing 4 inflammatory indices in HCC; (3) explore the association between the inflammatory indices and systemic/intratumoral inflammatory markers.

METHODS

Two cohorts from Hong Kong (HK; n = 1,315) and Newcastle (n = 574) were studied. A novel index was constructed from the HK training set (n = 627). The index was constructed from the training set by combing independent prognostic circulating parameters, followed by validating in the validation set of HK cohort (n = 688) and the Newcastle cohort. Its prognostic performance was compared to 4 inflammatory indices, namely, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, prognostic nutrition index, and systemic immune-inflammation index, were compared in the HK cohort. Circulating cytokines and intratumoral gene expression were analyzed in a subset of patients with available samples and correlated with the inflammatory indices.

RESULTS

In the training set of the HK cohort, the ILIS, was generated: -0.057 × albumin (g/L) + 0.978 × log (Bilirubin, µmol/L) + 1.341 × log (alkaline phosphatase, IU/L) + 0.086 × Neutrophil (10⁹/L) + 0.301 × log (alpha-fetoprotein, µg/L). With cutoff of 2.60 and 3.87, the ILIS could categorize patients into 3 risk groups in the both validation cohorts. ILIS outperforms other inflammatory indices and remains an independent prognosticator for overall survival after adjustment with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (hazard ratio 31.90, p < 0.001). The ILIS had the best prognostic performances as compared to other inflammatory indices. In exploratory analyses, the ILIS correlated with circulating inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-8) but not with any intratumoral inflammatory gene expression.

CONCLUSIONS

ILIS is an HCC-specific prognostic index built on 5 readily available blood parameters. Its versatility is validated both Eastern and Western population of HCC. The score is correlated with levels of circulating cytokines.

Novel Prognostic Nomograms for Predicting Early and Late Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Curative Hepatectomy

Aim

Hepatectomy is the main curative method for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China. Unfortunately, high recurrence rate after hepatectomy poses negative impact on the prognosis of patients. This study aimed to develop prognostic nomograms to predict early recurrence (ER) and late recurrence (LR) of HCC after curative hepatectomy.

Patients and Methods

Total of 318 HCC patients undergoing curative hepatectomy from January 2012 to January 2018 were retrospectively recruited. Potential risk factors that were significant for predicting ER and LR in univariate analysis were selected for multivariate survival model analysis using the backward stepwise method. Risk factors identified in multivariate analysis were used to develop nomograms to predict ER and LR. The nomogram was internally validated using 2,000 bootstrap samples from 75% of the original data.

Results

Among 318 patients, 164 showed postoperative recurrence, of which 140 and 24 had ER (≤2 years) and LR (>2 years), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that age, Hong Kong Liver Cancer Stage, albumin-bilirubin, METAVIR fibrosis grade, and microvascular invasion were risk factors of ER for HCC after curative hepatectomy. The AUC of the ROC curve for ER in the development set (D-set) was 0.888 while that in the validation set (V-set) was 0.812. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and glypican-3 (+) were risk factors for LR in HCC patients after curative hepatectomy. The AUC of the ROC curve for LR predictive nomogram that integrated all independent predictors was 0.831. The AUC of the ROC curve for LR in the D-set was 0.833, while that for LR in the V-set was 0.733. The C-index and AUC of ROC for the proposed nomograms were more satisfactory than three conventional HCC staging systems used in this study.

Conclusion

We developed novel nomograms to predict ER and LR of HCC patients after curative hepatectomy for clinical use to individualize follow-up and therapeutic strategies.

2019 Update of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri II Recommendations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) had published its first guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC (The Puri Recommendations) in 2014, and these guidelines were very well received by the healthcare community involved in diagnosis and management of HCC in India and neighboring countries. However, since 2014, many new developments have taken place in the field of HCC diagnosis and management, hence INASL endeavored to update its 2014 consensus guidelines. A new Task Force on HCC was constituted that reviewed the previous guidelines as well as the recent developments in various aspects of HCC that needed to be incorporated in the new guidelines. A 2-day round table discussion was held on 5th and 6th May 2018 at Puri, Odisha, to discuss, debate, and finalize the revised consensus statements. Each statement of the guideline was graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system with minor modifications. We present here the 2019 Update of INASL Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri-2 Recommendations.

Role of lncRNA-ATB in ovarian cancer and its mechanisms of action

This study aimed to elucidate the role of long non-coding RNA activated by transforming growth factor-β (lncRNA-ATB) in ovarian cancer and its underlying mechanisms of action. Expression levels of lncRNA-ATB in ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and in a healthy human ovarian cell line were compared using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The results indicated that lncRNA-ATB was expressed at significantly higher levels in SKOV3 cells compared with the healthy cell line. After downregulation of lncRNA-ATB expression in SKOV3 cells using lncRNA-ATB-short hairpin RNA, cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration were assessed using Cell counting kit-8, Live Dead staining, Transwell assay and wound healing assay, respectively. RT-qPCR and western blotting were used to quantify the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), phosphorylated (p)-STAT3, and the additional epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins E-cadherin and vimentin in SKOV3 cells. LncRNA-ATB downregulation significantly reduced SKOV3 cell proliferation, invasion and migration, promoted apoptosis, decreased the expression of p-STAT3 and vimentin, and increased E-cadherin expression. Taken together, these results suggest that lncRNA-ATB downregulation can inhibit ovarian cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promote cell apoptosis. Lnc-RNA-ATB may therefore be a new target for ovarian cancer treatment.

Platelets and Hepatocellular Cancer: Bridging the Bench to the Clinics

Growing interest is recently being focused on the role played by the platelets in favoring hepatocellular cancer (HCC) growth and dissemination. The present review reports in detail both the experimental and clinical evidence published on this topic. Several growth factors and angiogenic molecules specifically secreted by platelets are directly connected with tumor progression and neo-angiogenesis. Among them, we can list the platelet-derived growth factor, the vascular endothelial growth factor, the endothelial growth factor, and serotonin. Platelets are also involved in tumor spread, favoring endothelium permeabilization and tumor cells’ extravasation and survival in the bloodstream. From the bench to the clinics, all of these aspects were also investigated in clinical series, showing an evident correlation between platelet count and size of HCC, tumor biological behavior, metastatic spread, and overall survival rates. Moreover, a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the platelet–tumor axis represents a paramount aspect for optimizing both current tumor treatment and development of new therapeutic strategies against HCC.

Predictive Effects of Inflammatory Scores in Patients with BCLC 0-A Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatectomy

Background: Inflammatory markers are regarded as prognostic factors of the outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Examples include the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR); platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR); the albumin and lymphocyte counts used in the prognostic nutritional index (PNI); and the neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts used in the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). This study evaluates the effects of PNI, NLR, PLR, and SII to predict recurrence and survival in patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages 0-A of HCC after hepatectomy. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Kaohsiung Chung-Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. The study enrolled 891 patients (77.9% males; mean age 58.53 ± 11.60 years) with BCLC stage 0/A HCC undergoing hepatectomy between 2001 and 2016. PNI, NLR, PLR and SII were measured before hepatectomy. Results: High NLR (>1.8) was adversely associated with overall survival (p = 0.032). Low PNI (≤45) was adversely associated with overall survival and disease-free survival (p < 0.001). Low SII (≤45) also had an adverse association with overall survival (p = 0.008) and disease-free survival (p < 0.001). Diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis, microvascular invasion, low PNI (≤45), and low SII (≤160) were independently associated with poor overall survival in a multivariate analysis. HCV infection, diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis, microvascular invasion, low PNI, and low SII were independent prognostic factors of recurrent HCC. The combined use of PNI and SII provided improved prognostic information. Conclusions: Low PNI and low SII are significantly poor prognostic factors for overall survival and recurrence in patients with BCLC 0-A hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy.

Prognostic value of the neutrophil-lymphocyte, platelet-lymphocyte and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio in breast cancer patients

The aim of the present study was to assess the blood the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) as prognostic factors in breast cancer (BC) patients. A retrospective analysis of 436 BC patients who were treated at COI (Gliwice, Poland) between January 2005 and June 2018 was performed. The prognostic value [overall survival (OS)] of the pre-treatment PLR, NLR and MLR was assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. The 5-year OS was lower in the NLR >2.65 compared with that in the NLR≤2.65 group (82.5 vs. 89.6%; P=0.053), and significantly lower in the subgroup of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC; 70.3 vs. 89.3%; P=0.034) and in patients whose tumors had an estrogen receptor-negative [ER(-)] status (66.6 vs. 83.6%; P=0.018). The 5-year OS was lower in patients with PLR >190.9 compared with that in the PLR≤190.9 group (78.7 vs. 89.4%; P=0.020). A poor OS rate associated with an elevated PLR was also observed in the subgroups with TNBC (68.2 vs. 88.5%; P=0.032) and with ER(-) status tumors (57.7 vs. 83.6%, P=0.002). An elevated MLR (>0.28) was not associated with OS time (P=0.830). Multivariate analysis revealed that the NLR and PLR were insignificant negative prognostic factors, except for the subgroup of patients with ER(-) tumors, where an elevated NLR [hazard ratio (HR)=2.40; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-4.80; P=0.013] and a higher PLR (HR=2.51; 95%CI: 1.23-5.14; P=0.012) were independent prognostic factors for poor OS together with lymph node metastasis ((HR=5.47; 95%CI: 2.46-12.15; P=0.0001 and HR=4.82; 95% CI: 2.15-10.78; P=0.0001), respectively. The present results revealed that an elevated NLR (>2.65) and PLR (>190.9) are associated with poor OS in BC patients. In the ER(-) subgroup of patients, an elevated NLR and PLR were significant independent prognostic factors. However, the MLR did not affect OS.

Preoperative Predictors Including the Role of Inflammatory Indices in Predicting Early Recurrence After Re-resection for Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Repeat liver resection (RLR) for recurrent HCC (rHCC) is a widely accepted treatment modality. However, early recurrence rate is high, frequently resulting in futile resection. We performed this study to evaluate preoperative factors, including the value of inflammatory indices, in predicting early (<1 year) recurrence in patients who underwent RLR for rHCC. This may help clinicians better select patients for RLR, while excluding cases in which RLR for rHCC would likely be futile.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of 80 patients where 90 operative cases of RLR and 84 cases of early recurrence (<1 year) post-RLR were evaluated. Preoperative predictors of early recurrence and overall survival (OS) were assessed.

RESULTS

There were 31 (34.4%) early recurrences with a 5-year OS of 38.9%. Elevated platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) >103.6 was a significant independent preoperative predictor of both early recurrence, relative risk (RR) 4.284 (P = 0.001) and OS, RR 2.139 (P = 0.027), while alphafetoprotein (AFP) ≥ 200 was a significant independent preoperative predictor of early recurrence only, RR 11.655 (P = 0.030). Patients were followed-up at a median of 14.3 months with 54.8% developing intrahepatic recurrences and 19.4% developing extrahepatic recurrences.

CONCLUSION

Both, elevated PLR and AFP ≥ 200 were independent predictors of early (<1 year) recurrence after RLR for rHCC, while only an elevated PLR was an independent preoperative prognosticators of overall survival. Indication for RLR should be carefully discussed in patients with relapsed HCC with an elevated PLR, due to the potential of early recurrence and poor overall survival.

Prognostic Role of Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients With Bladder Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Many studies have been reported that platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) may be associated with the prognosis of bladder cancer, but the results are inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of pretreatment PLR on the prognosis of bladder cancer.

Methods: The databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to analyze the relationship between PLR and prognosis. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were used to analyze the relationship between PLR and clinicopathological features. Publication bias was estimated using Begg's funnel plot asymmetry tests.

Results: A total of 8 studies comprising 3,303 patients were included in this meta-analysis. An elevated PLR was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.03–1.54, p = 0.026), but not with cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR = 1.15, 95% CI = 0.95–1.38, p = 0.149), or recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.72, 95% CI = 0.79–3.75, p = 0.175). In addition, high PLR was correlated with age ≥ 65 years (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.24–2.67, p = 0.002), whereas was not significantly correlated with sex, tumor grade, tumor stage, distant metastasis, or tumor size.

Conclusions: The pretreatment PLR could serve as a predicative biomarker of poor prognosis for patients with bladder cancer.

Prognostic role of pretreatment red blood cell distribution width in patients with cancer: A meta-analysis of 49 studies

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been recently demonstrated to be a predictor of inflammation. High pretreatment RDW level is associated with poor survival outcomes in various malignancies, although the results are controversial. We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of RDW. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE till April 2018. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated for overall survival (OS) and combined disease-free survival, progression-free survival, and recurrence-free survival (DFS/PFS/RFS). 49 studies with 19,790 individuals were included in the final analysis. High RDW level adversely affected both OS and DFS/PFS/RFS. For solid cancers, colorectal cancer (CRC) had the strongest relationship with poor OS, followed by hepatic cancer (HCC). Negative OS outcomes were also observed in hematological malignancies. Furthermore, patients at either early or advanced stage had inverse relationship between high pretreatment RDW and poor OS. Studies with cut-off values between 13% and 14% had worse HRs for OS and DFS/PFS/RFS than others. Furthermore, region under the curve (ROC) analysis was used widely to define cut-off values and had relatively closer relationship with poorer HRs. In conclusion, our results suggested that elevated pretreatment RDW level could be a negative predictor for cancer prognosis.

Prognostic value of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio in ovarian cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) was recently proposed as a prognostic factor of ovarian cancer. However, prognostic value of the LMR in ovarian cancer remains inconclusive. The study aimed to assess prognostic value of the LMR in ovarian cancer.

METHODS

Seven common databases were comprehensively searched for relevant studies. The analyses were performed for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and clinical parameters. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to analyze OS and PFS.

RESULTS

A total of 2343 patients with ovarian cancer were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that a low LMR predicted shorter OS (HR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.38-2.37, P < .01) and PFS (HR = 1.65 95% CI = 1.46-1.85, P < .01) when compared to a high LMR in ovarian cancer. Besides, a low LMR was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage (P < .01), earlier lymph node metastasis (P = .01), higher carbohydrate antigen-125 levels (P < .01), larger residual tumor (P < .01) and worse chemosensitivity (P < .01) when compared to a high LMR in ovarian cancer.

CONCLUSION

Low LMR was associated with unfavorable survival in patients with ovarian cancer. LMR could serve as a prognostic biomarker of ovarian cancer.

The Role of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio, and Platelets in the Prognosis of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE(S)

The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelets (PLT), and neutrophil level for their prognostic value in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

MATERIALS

We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 141 patients with mRCC (2006-2016). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The cutoff value of NLR was "elevated" as >3.68 and the PLR cutoff value was "elevated" as >144.4.

RESULTS

The median PFS and OS were shorter in elevated NLR and PLR. A higher value of PLT was associated with worse median OS and higher neutrophil level with worse OS and PFS. In multivariate analysis, higher NLR (p = 0.007) and PLR (p = 0.006) were independent prognostic factors for shorter OS together with BMI ≤30 (p = 0.004), higher Fuhrman grade (p = 0.0002), lower level of hemoglobin (p= 0.010), and ZUBROD 2 (p = 0.0002). Higher PLR (p = 0.0002) was an independent negative prognostic factor for PFS together with higher Fuhrman grade (p = 0.001), higher neutrophil level (p = 0.001), and lower lymphocyte level (p = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

Elevated pretreatment NLR, PLR, PLT, and neutrophil count are associated with shorter OS and PFS in patients with mRCC. NLR and PLR are independent prognostic factors for OS. However, PLR and neutrophil count are independent prognostic factors for PFS.

The prognostic significance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in giant cell tumor of the extremities

Background

In this study, the influence of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on the prognosis of giant cell tumor (GCT) of the extremities were investigated.

Methods

The clinical parameters of 163 patients who were diagnosed with GCT of the extremities between July 2008 and January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Optimal cutoff values of NLR and PLR were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. According to optimal cutoff values, patients were divided into high NLR and low NLR groups or high PLR and low PLR groups. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods were used to compare the recurrence-free survival (RFS) between the high and low NLR groups, and between the high and low PLR groups. Univariate analysis was performed to determine the influence of age, gender, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, white blood cell count, tumor size, surgical approach and Campanacci stage on the prognosis of giant cell tumor of bone. The main predictors of RFS were determined by Cox multivariate regression analysis.

Results

The optimal cutoff value of NLR in giant cell tumor of the extremities was 2.32, which was used to classify patients into high and low NLR groups. The optimal cutoff value of PLR was 116.81, and was used to classify patients into high and low PLR groups. Campanacci stage, tumor maximum diameter, alkaline phosphatase, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly associated with the high NLR and PLR. Cox multivariate regression analysis revealed that the Campanacci stage (HR = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.24~8.69) and NLR (HR = 4.18, 95% CI: 1.83~9.57) were independent prognostic factors for giant cell tumor of the extremities.

Conclusion

As a novel inflammatory index, NLR has some predictive power for the prognosis of patients with giant cell tumor of the extremities.

Preoperative Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Plus Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts the Outcomes after Curative Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

In recent years, inflammation-based scoring systems have been reported to predict survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). The aim of our study was to validate combined preoperative Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio (NLR)-Platelet-to-Lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in predicting overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) in patients who underwent curative resection for HCC.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of HCC patients underwent liver resection with curative intent from January 2010 to December 2013. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off values for NLR and PLR. Patients with both NLR and PLR elevated were allocated a score of 2; patients showing one or neither of these indices elevated were accorded a score of 1 or 0, respectively.

RESULTS

132 patients with a median age of 66 years (range 18-87) underwent curative resection for HCC. Overall morbidity was 30.3%, 30-day mortality was 2.3%, and 90-day mortality was 6.8%. At a median follow-up of 24 months (range 1-88), 25% patients died, and 40.9% had recurrence. On multivariate analysis, elevated preoperative NLR-PLR was predictive of both OS (HR 2.496; CI 1.156-5.389; p=0.020) and RFS (HR 1.917; CI 1.161-3.166; p=0.011). The 5-year OS was 76% for NLR-PLR=0 group, 21.7% for the NLR-PLR=1 group, and 61.1% for the NLR-PLR=2 group, respectively. The 5-year RFS was 39.3% for the NLR-PLR=0 group, 18.4% for the NLR-PLR=1 group, and 21.1% for the NLR-PLR=2 group, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The preoperative NLR-PLR is predictive of both OS and RFS in patients with HCC undergoing curative liver resection.

The prognostic and predictive value of the combination of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who receive transarterial chemoembolization therapy

Purpose

This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of the combination of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (neutrophil/platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR–PLR]) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who receive transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) therapy.

Patients and methods

Data from 216 patients who were diagnosed with HCC after TACE therapy were retrospectively collected. R software was used to analyze the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and to compare the area under the ROC curves (AUROCs).

Results

The long-term survival rates were significantly higher for patients with lower values than those with higher values of NLR, PLR, and NLR–PLR. The mean overall survival decreased gradually with increases in the NLR–PLR score (P<0.0001). The AUROC values of the NLR–PLR score were consistently higher than those of NLR and PLR.

Conclusion

This study showed that the NLR–PLR score might be a useful predictor for patients with HCC who receive TACE therapy.

Both glypican-3/Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and autophagy contributed to the inhibitory effect of curcumin on hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of glypican-3(GPC3)/wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and autophagy in the regulation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth mediated by curcumin.

METHODS

HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of curcumin and/or GPC3-targeting siRNA in the presence or absence of 3-MA. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were determined by MTT and TUNEL assay, respectively. Expression of GPC3, β-catenin, c-myc, LC3, and Beclin1 was determined by western blotting. In addition, curcumin was tested in tumor xenografts mice model, Caliper IVIS Lumina II was used to monitor the tumor growth, and GPC3/wnt/β-catenin signaling proteins were determined by western blotting.

RESULTS

Curcumin treatment led to proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction in HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, and suppressed HCC tumor growth in vivo. Further analysis showed that curcumin treatment inactivated Wnt/β-catenin signaling and decreased GPC3 expression, silencing of GPC3 expression promoted the effects of curcumin on Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In addition, inhibiting autophagy by 3-MA relieved curcumin-dependent down-regulation of GPC3.

CONCLUSION

Curcumin suppressed HCC tumor growth through down-regulating GPC3/wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which was partially mediated by activation of autophagy.

Selecting patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for liver transplantation: incorporating tumor biology criteria

Liver transplantation (LT) is the optimal therapeutic option for patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Due to universal donor shortage, only the patients with limited tumor burden (under the so-called Milan criteria) are considered as potential candidates for LT in most institutions. It is expected that in the near future, more liver grafts will be available for patients with HCC due to the implementation of new direct antivirals against hepatitis C, leaving a prone scenario to consider expanding Milan criteria. A moderate expansion of Milan criteria could be implemented without increasing the risk of tumor recurrence if patients with favorable biological behavior are carefully selected. Incorporating information regarding tumor biology in the decision-making algorithm would result in a more rational use of LT in patients with HCC. In the present review, surrogate markers of tumor biology are critically evaluated as potential tools to be combined with existing radiological criteria. In addition, the current state of liquid biopsy is discussed, as this cutting-edge technology may reshape the management of HCC in the upcoming years.

Pre-operative predictors of early recurrence/mortality including the role of inflammatory indices in patients undergoing partial hepatectomy for spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Spontaneous rupture of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (srHCC) is a life-threatening emergency. We sought to identify the pre-operative predictors of early tumor recurrence/mortality including the role of inflammatory indices after partial hepatectomy for srHCC.

METHODS

Between 2000-2015, 79 patients with srHCC were identified to have undergone upfront partial hepatectomy following srHCC. Clinicopathologic data were retrospectively analyzed to identify pre-operative predictors of early (<1 year) recurrence and mortality.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine patients were identified to have undergone partial hepatectomy for srHCC. The 1-year mortality and 1-year recurrence rate in our series was 30.3% and 41.8% respectively. On multivariate analyses, free tumor rupture and a tumor size > 10 cm were identified to be independent predictors of early recurrence while an alpha fetoprotein (AFP) > 200 ng/mL was an independent predictor of early mortality. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio > 3 and prognostic nutritional index < 40 were predictors of early recurrence while PLR > 180 was a predictor of early mortality on univariate analyses but not multivariate analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Tumor size > 10 cm, free tumor rupture, and an AFP > 200 ng/mL were useful predictors in avoiding "futile surgery" in patients with srHCC undergoing a partial hepatectomy. Preoperative inflammatory markers appear to be less useful as predictors of early recurrence/mortality in this cohort of patients.

C-Reactive Protein and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio as Potential Tumor Markers in Low-Alpha-Fetoprotein Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is only elevated in about half of the HCC patients, limiting its usefulness in following the effects of therapy or screening. New markers are needed. It has been previously noted that the inflammation markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are prognostically important and may reflect HCC aggressiveness. We therefore examined these 2 markers in a low-AFP HCC cohort and found that for HCCs > 2 cm, both markers significantly rise with an increasing maximum tumor diameter (MTD). We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and Youden index value for each marker, and their area-under-the-curve values for each MTD group. Patients were dichotomized into 2 groups based on the CRP and PLR from the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. In the logistic regression models of the 4 different MTD patient groups, CRP and PLR levels were statistically significant to estimate MTD in univariate logistic regression models of MTD groups > 2 cm. CRP and PLR were then combined, and the combination was statistically significant to estimate MTD groups of 3-, 4-, and 5-cm cutoffs. CRP and PLR thus have potential as tumor markers for low-AFP HCC patients, and possibly for screening.

Study to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of radiofrequency ablation compared to surgical resection for liver cancer

Introduction: Hepatic cancer is a highly lethal tumour with increasing worldwide incidence. These tumours are characterized by the proliferation of malignant cells, generalised immunosuppression and chronic inflammation marked with an increase in inflammatory markers as a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and overexpression of CD4+CD39+ on T lymphocytes. The studies have outlined immunomodulatory changes in liver cancer patients as the plausible explanation for the better survival. The aim of this pilot study was understand the possible immunomodulatory effect of radiofrequency (RF) energy and liver resection (non-radiofrequency based devices; non-RF device) in relation to NLR, PLR and expression of CD4+CD39+ T lymphocytes and compare the magnitude of these changes. Material and Methods: In the present study, 17 patients with hepatic cancer were prospectively divided into treatment groups radiofrequency ablation (RFA group) and Liver resection using non-RF devices (LR group). A blood sample was collected from each patient, one month before and after the procedure and compared with the blood samples of age-matched healthy volunteers for group wise comparison. The Mann-Whitney U test, Mc Nemar test and Wilcoxon rank test were used for statistical comparisons as appropriate. Results: A decrease in NLR was reported after RFA from 4.7±3.3 to 3.8±1.8 (P=0.283), in contrary to an increase from 3.5±2.8 to 4.5±3.2 (P=0.183) in LR group. Likewise, a decrease was discerned in PLR following RFA from 140.5±79.5 to 137±69.2 respectively (P=0.386) and increase in the LR group from 116±42.2 to 120.8±29 respectively (P=0.391). A significant decrease in CD4+CD39+ lymphocytes from 55.8±13.8 to 24.6±21.1 (P=0.03) was observed in RFA group whilst a significant increase was reported in LR group from 47.6±8.8 to 55.7±33.2 (P=0.38). Conclusion: Studies have shown that decrease in the NLR, PLR and expression of CD4+CD39+ on T lymphocytes as the marker of better survival in hepatic cancer patients and our findings have confirmed that these changes can be induced following application of RF energy. Moreover, this could be the explanation of better survival observed in different studies using RFA or other RF-based devices in comparison to non-RF based liver resection techniques. However, further larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Prognostic role of pretreatment circulating MDSCs in patients with solid malignancies: A meta-analysis of 40 studies

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been shown to contribute to tumor progression, mainly through immune suppression. Inverse correlations have been observed between MDSC levels and patient survival for various malignancies. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment circulating MDSCs. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from their inceptions to September 2017 to identify relevant articles. Using a fixed or random effects model, pooled hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated for overall survival (OS) and combined disease-free survival, progression-free survival, and recurrence-free survival (DFS/PFS/RFS). A total of 40 studies comprising 2721 were included. For solid tumors, high levels of pretreatment circulating MDSCs were significantly associated with worse OS (HR = 1.796, 95% CI = 1.587-2.032) and DFS/PFS/RFS (HR = 2.459, 95% CI = 2.018-2.997). Breast cancer showed the largest association between high MDSC levels and worse OS (pooled HR = 3.053). Elevated MDSCs were also associated with worse OS for mixed-stage tumors (pooled HR = 1.659) and advanced-stage tumors (pooled HR = 2.337). Furthermore, both monocytic-MDSCs (M-MDSCs) and granulocytic or polymorphonuclear (PMN-MDSCs) showed negative associations with survival outcomes. Overall, high levels of pretreatment circulating MDSCs negatively influenced survival in most cancers. Pretreatment circulating MDSCs should be taken into account to further improve prognostic evaluation and develop novel therapeutic strategies.

Preoperative albumin-bilirubin grade plus platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio predict the outcomes of patients with BCLC stage A hepatocellular carcinoma after liver resection

There is little information regarding the predictive ability of albumin-bilirubin grades (ALBI) plus platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following liver resection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic power of the ALBI-PLR score in patients with hepatitis B virus-related (HBV-related) HCC within Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A after liver resection.Around 475 patients were included in this study. Patients with preoperative ALBI grades 1, 2, or 3 were allocated a score of 0, 1, or 2, respectively. Patients with preoperative PLR >150 or ≤150 were allocated a score of 0 or 1, respectively. The ALBI-PLR score was the summary of the ALBI and PLR scores.During the follow-up period, 256 patients experienced recurrence, and 150 patients died. Multivariate analysis revealed tumor size, multiple tumors, positive HBV-DNA load, cirrhosis, and ALBI-PLR score as being independently associated with postoperative recurrence, whereas tumor size, high preoperative α-fetoprotein level, and ALBI-PLR score were independent risk factors for postoperative mortality. HCC patients with high ALBI-PLR score had poor recurrence-free and overall survival.The preoperative ALBI-PLR score is a surrogate marker for predicting HBV-related HCC patient's prognosis after liver resection. A high ALBI-PLR score is associated with a high incidence of postoperative recurrence and mortality.

Deciphering Platelet Kinetics in Diagnostic and Prognostic Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Liver pathophysiology can, directly and indirectly, impose morphological or biochemical abnormalities of the platelets. Conversely, platelets are also able to regulate the promitogenic and profibrotic signals on liver pathobiology. Platelet contribution to the liver pathophysiology is typically facilitated by the platelet-derived growth factors that are sequestered in different subsets of alpha and dense granules, and the release of these growth factors is synchronized according to the stage and type of liver disease or injury. Thus, platelets harbor clinically relevant information with potential diagnostic and prognostic implications in liver diseases. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) largely influences the platelet kinetics, and a growing body of evidence has recognized its association with HCC occurrence or prognosis. This narrative review summarizes the progress made on implicating platelet as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for HCC; the review also dissects the contradictory results from earlier studies and reflects how combining platelet-based information may enable more reliable test for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of HCC.

Inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and PLR in relation to HCC characteristics

Introduction

Several markers of systemic inflammation, including blood C-reactive protein, platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) have been identified as independent prognosticators for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

To attempt to understand the significance of these markers, they were examined in relation to 4 tumour parameters, namely maximum tumour diameter (MTD), tumour multifocality, portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and blood alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels.

Results

Using linear and logistic regression models, we found that C-reactive protein and PLR on single variables, were statistically significantly related to the tumour parameters. In a logistic regression final model, CRP was significantly related to MTD, AFP and PVT, and the Glasgow Index significantly related to MTD and AFP. Results of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC), showed that the areas for PLR and CRP were statistically significant for high versus low MTD and for presence versus absence of PVT. CRP alone was significant for high versus low AFP.

Conclusions

These analyses suggest that the prognostic usefulness of the inflammatory markers PLR and CRP (but not NLR) may be due to their reflection of parameter values for tumour growth and invasiveness.

Prognostic and clinicopathological value of SIRT3 expression in various cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Several studies have explored the prognostic value of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) in various cancers, but obtained inconsistent results. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between SIRT3 expression and prognosis in various cancers.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were comprehensively retrieved by the end of September 29, 2017. All the relevant studies were checked and included in the meta-analysis if they met the inclusion criteria.

Results

A total of 17 studies involving 2,865 patients were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The results indicated that SIRT3 expression was not significantly associated with overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR]=0.87, 95% CI=0.59–1.29, P=0.50) and disease-free survival (HR=0.87, 95% CI=0.57–1.31, P=0.50) in total various cancers. However, significant relationship between SIRT3 expression and OS in specific cancers was detected, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (HR=0.48, 95% CI=0.26–0.89, P=0.019), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR=0.56, 95% CI=0.42–0.74, P<0.001), pancreatic carcinoma (PC) (HR=0.55, 95% CI=0.30–1.00, P=0.049), renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (HR=0.13, 95% CI=0.02–0.98, P=0.048), breast cancer (BC) (HR=2.53, 95% CI=1.83–3.67, P<0.001), colon cancer (CC) (HR=1.87, 95% CI=1.12–3.26, P=0.022) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (HR=2.20, 95% CI=1.38–3.50, P=0.001). Moreover, SIRT3 expression was obviously associated with tumor size (odds ratio [OR]=1.41, 95% CI=1.02–1.94, P=0.04), tumor differentiation (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.08–2.16, P=0.02) and clinical stage (OR=2.07, 95% CI=1.23–3.46, P=0.01) in HCC.

Conclusion

SIRT3 was distinctly related to the OS in specific cancers. SIRT3 was an unfavorable prognostic factor in BC, CC and NSCLC; however, it was also a favorable prognostic factor in CLL, HCC, PC and RCC, especially in HCC.

Prognostic value of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in pancreatic cancer: a comprehensive meta-analysis of 17 cohort studies

Background and aims

Several studies were conducted to explore the prognostic value of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in pancreatic cancer and have reported contradictory results. This study aims to summarize the prognostic role of PLR in pancreatic cancer.

Materials and methods

Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library were completely searched. The cohort studies focusing on the prognostic role of PLR in pancreatic cancer were eligible. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed.

Results

Fifteen papers containing 17 cohort studies with pancreatic cancer were identified. The results showed patients that with low PLR might have longer OS when compared to the patients with high PLR (hazard ratio=1.28, 95% CI=1.17–1.40, P<0.00001; I²=42%). Similar results were observed in the subgroup analyses of OS, which was based on the analysis model, ethnicity, sample size and cut-off value. Further analyses based on the adjusted potential confounders were conducted, including CA199, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, modified Glasgow Prognostic Score, albumin, C-reactive protein, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, stage, tumor size, nodal involvement, tumor differentiation, margin status, age and gender, which confirmed that low PLR was a protective factor in pancreatic cancer. In addition, low PLR was significantly associated with longer PFS when compared to high PLR in pancreatic cancer (hazard ratio=1.27, 95% CI=1.03–1.57, P=0.03; I²=33%).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it was found that high PLR is an unfavorable predictor of OS and PFS in patients with pancreatic cancer, and PLR is a promising prognostic biomarker for pancreatic cancer.

Combined pretreatment serum CA19-9 and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a potential prognostic factor in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients

The aim of this study was to explore the role of combined pretreatment serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as potential prognostic factors in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients.We investigated pretreatment serum CA19-9 and NLR in 59 metastatic pancreatic cancer patients, determined the patients' thresholds by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and assessed their prognostic values by Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression models.Results of multivariate analysis showed high CA19-9, high NLR, and high score (the scoring system of CA19-9 and NLR) were significantly correlated with overall survival. Area under the curve of the scoring system was higher than that of CA19-9 or NLR.Combined pretreatment serum CA19-9 and NLR is a better prognostic biomarker of metastatic pancreatic cancer patients than CA19-9 or NLR alone.

Role of inflammatory markers as hepatocellular cancer selection tool in the setting of liver transplantation

Since the advent of the Milan criteria in 1996 and its widespread adoption for selection of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who would benefit from transplant, there has been an extensive hunt for the ideal clinical biomarker to predict HCC recurrence. This is because Milan lack does not include tumor biology indices and recurrence rates remain in the 15-20% range worldwide. While a 'silver-bullet' biomarker has not been found, several useful inflammatory markers have been identified and used in scoring systems that supersede Milan in their ability to predict HCC recurrence post liver transplantation (LT). In this review, we aim to summarize the role of inflammatory markers paly in the selection of HCC patients awaiting LT.

Utility of Serum Inflammatory Markers for Predicting Microvascular Invasion and Survival for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Preoperative serum inflammatory markers have been correlated with outcome after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but studies have had conflicting results. This study aimed to evaluate the association of six inflammatory markers with recurrence-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and microvascular invasion (MVI), a well-known prognostic factor.

METHODS

This study investigated 370 patients who underwent resection of HCC from 1992 to 2016, retrospectively evaluating their inflammatory indices and individual components including their neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and aspartate aminotransferase-to-neutrophil ratio index (ANRI). Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate these markers for RFS, OS, and MVI.

RESULTS

The median RFS was 23 months, and the median OS was 60 months. Factors independently associated with worse RFS were higher PLR and alpha-fetoprotein level, male gender, and the presence of MVI as well as multiple nodules. Factors independently associated with worse OS were higher PLR and international normalized ratio, male gender, older age, presence of MVI and multiple nodules, larger tumor, presence of cirrhosis, and absence of steatosis. The study identified MVI in 47% of the patients. Lower level of albumin, higher level of alpha-fetoprotein, and larger tumor on preoperative imaging were independently associated with MVI.

CONCLUSIONS

This largest Western series to evaluate the utility of preoperative inflammatory markers in patients with HCC found that only PLR was associated with RFS and OS and that albumin was associated with MVI.

Prognostic role of long non-coding RNA TUG1 expression in various cancers: a meta-analysis

Several studies were conducted to explore the prognostic role of long non-coding RNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (lncRNA TUG1) expression in various cancers, with contradictory. This study aims to summarize the prognostic role of lncRNA TUG1 expression in various cancers. Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library were completely retrieved. The cohort studies focusing on the prognostic role of lncRNA TUG1 expression in various cancers were eligible. The endpoints were overall survival (OS) and clinicopathological parameters. 9 studies involving a total of 1,078 patients were identified. The results showed that high lncRNA TUG1 expression was obviously associated with worse OS when compared to the low lncRNA TUG1 expression (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.07–1.76, P = 0.01; I² = 85%). However, No distinct relationship was observed between the lncRNA TUG1 expression and age (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.76–1.28, P = 0.92; I2 = 4%), gender (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.70–1.22, P = 0.57; I² = 0%), diameter (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.34–2.01, P = 0.67; I² = 85%), smoking (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.37–3.21, P = 0.87; I² = 73%), TNM stage (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.25–1.43, P = 0.25; I² = 86%) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.47–2.45, P = 0.87; I² = 86%). In conclusion, it was revealed that high lncRNA TUG1 expression is an unfavorable predictor of OS in patients with cancers, and lncRNA TUG1 expression is a promising prognostic biomarker for various cancers.