Systemic and intratumoral balances between monocytes/macrophages and lymphocytes predict prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients after surgery

The role of tumor-associated macrophages in hepatocellular carcinoma-from bench to bedside: A review

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Despite progress in treatment, recurrence after radical treatment is common, and the prognosis remains poor for patients with advanced disease. Therefore, there is a need to identify prognostic and predictive factors for the response to therapy or more intensive surveillance or treatment. Because the tumor microenvironment plays a crucial role in the development of cancer and metastasis, it is a crucial need to understand processes that are involved in carcinogenesis. Within the microenvironment, several immune cells with different roles are present. One of the most important of these is tumor-associated macrophages. These cells may exert either antitumor or protumor roles. Several studies have suggested that tumor-associated macrophages can be used as prognostic markers. Furthermore, they may be involved in resistance to immunotherapy or systemic treatment. As they play an important role in cancer development, tumor-associated macrophages are also a good target for therapy. In this review, we briefly summarize recent progress on knowledge regarding the basic molecular characteristics, impact on prognosis and potential clinical implications of tumor-associated macrophages in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Preoperative systemic inflammatory response index predicts the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

Background

Preoperative inflammatory status plays an important role in the prognosis of malignancy. We sought to explore the value of preoperative inflammatory biomarkers in predicting long-term outcomes of liver transplantation (LT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Method

Patients who underwent LT for HCC in our hospital between January 2010 and June 2020 were included in this study. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and outcome data were obtained. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of inflammatory biomarkers. The effectiveness of inflammatory biomarkers in predicting outcomes was analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses.

Results

A total of 218 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 53.9 ± 8.5 years. The AUC of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) for overall survival (OS) were 0.741, 0.731, 0.756, 0.746, and 0.749, respectively. Cox proportional hazards model indicated that SIRI > 1.25 was independently associated with low OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.258, P = 0.024]. PLR > 82.15 and SIRI > 0.95 were independently associated with low disease-free survival (HR = 1.492, P = 0.015; and HR = 1.732, P = 0.008, respectively). In the survival analysis, the prognosis of patients with high preoperative SIRI and PLR was significantly worse (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

SIRI and PLR were useful prognostic markers for predicting patients with HCC after LT.

Prognostic Values of Combined Ratios of White Blood Cells in Glioblastoma: A Retrospective Study

In some malignant tumours, the changes in neutrophil counts in relation to other blood cells are connected with unfavourable prognosis. Nevertheless, the prognostic value of the combinations of the haematological components in glioblastoma (GBM) remains under dispute. The clinical significance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) was investigated in our study. We retrospectively studied 358 patients (males n = 195; females n = 163) aged 59.9 ± 13.5 yrs with newly diagnosed glioma and admitted to the Neurosurgery Centre. Routine blood tests and clinical characteristics were recorded within the first hour of hospital admission. The inflammatory variables: NLR, SII and SIRI exceeded the reference values and were significantly elevated in Grade 3 and Grade 4 tumour. The Cox model analysis showed that the age ≥ 63 years, NLR ≥ 4.56 × 10³/µL, SII ≥ 2003 × 10³/µL and SIRI ≥ 3.03 × 10³/µL significantly increased the risk of death in Grade 4 tumour patients. In the inflammatory variables, NLR demonstrated the highest impact on the survival time (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.145–2.127; p = 0.005). In the first Polish study including GBM patients, the age in relation to simple parameters derived from complete blood cell count were found to have prognostic implications in the survival rate.

Systemic Inflammation Response Index as a Prognostic Marker in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 38 Cohorts

Background

The systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), a novel and cost-effective serum biomarker, is associated with prognosis in patients with cancer. However, the prognostic value of the SIRI in cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the potential role of the SIRI as a prognostic indicator in cancer.

Methods

Reports in which the prognostic value of the SIRI in cancer was evaluated were retrieved from electronic databases. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to evaluate the prognostic significance of the SIRI. The odds ratio (OR) was also calculated to explore the association between the SIRI and clinicopathological features.

Results

This study included 30 retrospective studies with 38 cohorts and 10 754 cases. The meta-analysis indicated that a high SIRI was associated with short overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.82-2.29, P < .001) and disease-free survival (DFS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS)/progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.84-2.34, P < .001). Subgroup analysis showed that the prognostic value of the SIRI was significant in all kinds of cancer included. Moreover, the SIRI was significantly correlated with sex, tumor size, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, and lymphovascular invasion.

Conclusion

The pretreatment SIRI could be a promising universal prognostic indicator in cancer.

Prognostic Value of the Systemic Inflammatory Response Index in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) in patients with bladder cancer (BCa) treated with radical cystectomy (RC) and develop a survival predictive model through establishing a nomogram.

Materials and Methods

A total of 203 BCa patients who underwent RC were included in this study. The relationship between the SIRI and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and clinicopathological features were evaluated. Cox regression analysis was performed to investigate the effect of the factors on the OS and DFS. The results were applied in the establishment of a nomogram. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, decision curve analysis (DCA) curves, and calibration curves were performed to assess the predictive performance and accuracy of the nomogram, respectively.

Results

According to the classification of the SIRI, 81 patients (39.9%) were assigned to SIRI grade 1, 94 patients (46.3%) to SIRI grade 2, and the remaining 28 patients (13.8%) to SIRI grade 3. Multivariate Cox regression revealed that a higher SIRI grade was significantly associated with a poor prognosis and served as an independent prognostic factor for the OS [Grade 2 vs Grade 1, odds ratio = 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI),1.39–4.64, P = 0.002; Grade 3 vs Grade 1, odds ratio = 4.79, 95%CI: 2.41–9.50, P < 0.001] and DFS [Grade 2 vs Grade 1, odds ratio = 2.19, 95% CI, 1.12–4.31, P = 0.023; Grade 3 vs Grade 2, odds ratio = 3.36, 95%CI, 1.53–7.35, P = 0.002]. The ROC and DCA analysis indicated that the nomogram based on the SIRI contained a better predictive performance compared with the TNM stage (AUC = 0.750 and 0.791; all P < 0.05). The ROC analysis showed that nomograms can better predict the 3- and 5-year OS and DFS. The calibration curves exhibited a significant agreement between the nomogram and the actual observation.

Conclusion

SIRI as a novel independent prognostic index and potential prognostic biomarker can effectively improve the traditional clinicopathological analysis and optimize individualized clinical treatments for BCa patients after RC.

Clinicopathological and prognostic value of preoperative lymphocyte to monocyte ratio for hepatocellular carcinoma following curative resection: A meta-analysis including 4,092 patients

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have reported that lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) had novel prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to synthetically evaluate the prognostic role of preoperative LMR in HCC patients following curative resection.

METHODS

Eligible studies were acquired through searching Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and EMbase update to September 2019. Merged hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied as effect sizes.

RESULTS

A total of ten studies containing 4,092 patients following liver resection were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that preoperative elevated LMR indicated superior survival outcome (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.34-0.96, P = .035) and recurrence-free survival (RFS)/disease-free survival/time to recurrence (HR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58-0.98, P = .034). The significant prognostic role of preoperative LMR was detected in the subgroup of all publication year, country of origin, sample sizes <300, TNM stage of I-IV and LMR cut-off value ≤4. Furthermore, high LMR was significantly associated with male, high AFP, large tumor size, incomplete tumor capsule, advanced TNM stage and BCLC stage, and presence of PVTT.

CONCLUSION

Elevated preoperative LMR indicated superior survival outcome in HCC patients following curative resection, and might serve as a novel prognostic biomarker.

Prognostic value of the systemic inflammation response index in human malignancy: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) in malignancy based on existing evidence.

METHODS

We searched for relevant literature published in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase before April 10, 2020. Hazard ratios (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated and pooled to evaluate the relationship between SIRI and malignancy outcomes.

RESULTS

We included 14 articles, describing 6,035 patients. Our findings revealed that patients with high SIRI had worse overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.85-2.62, P < .001), disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.49-2.48, P < .001), time-to-progression (TTP) (HR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.55-2.58, P < .001), progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.38-2.16, P < .001), cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR: 3.57, 95% CI: 2.25-5.68, P < 0.001), disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.46 - 2.72, P < .001), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.28-3.99, P = .005) than patients with low SIRI. The correlation between SIRI and OS did not change in a subgroup analysis. Meta-regression indicated that heterogeneity may be related to differences in primary therapy strategies. Sensitivity analysis suggested that our results were reliable.

CONCLUSIONS

SIRI could be used as a useful predictor of poor prognosis during malignancy treatment.

A Novel Prognostic Marker Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI) for Operable Cervical Cancer Patients

It has been confirmed that the systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) based on peripheral blood neutrophil, monocyte and lymphocyte counts can be used for the prognostication of patients with various malignant tumors. However, the prognostic value of SIRI in cervical cancer patients has not yet been reported. This study found that a higher SIRI was related to lymphovascular invasion and was also significantly associated with FIGO stage, radiotherapy, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) but not related to other clinical and pathological parameters. According to the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, a high SIRI was associated with the poor prognosis of cervical cancer patients in the primary and validation groups. SIRI, NLR, PLR, and MLR can all be used to determine the prognosis of patients with operable cervical cancer. Moreover, it was confirmed that only SIRI was an independent prognostic factor for patients with operable cervical cancer. The same result was obtained in the propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. In the ROC curve analysis, SIRI was more accurate in predicting the prognosis of cervical cancer patients. Then, a nomogram was established based on SIRI, FIGO stage and lymphovascular invasion, which could determine the prognosis of cervical cancer patients more accurately than FIGO stage. The validation cohort showed the same results. In addition, the changes in SIRI relative to the baseline value at 4–8 weeks after surgery were closely related to the survival of cervical cancer patients. Compared with those with unchanged SIRI (absolute value of variation <25%), cervical cancer patients with an increase in SIRI > 75% had worse OS (P < 0.001), while patients with a decrease in SIRI > 75% had a better prognosis (P < 0.001). SIRI can serve as a new independent prognostic index and a potential marker for therapeutic response monitoring in patients with curable cervical cancer. Compared with the traditional FIGO staging system, the nomogram integrating SIRI can predict the survival of cervical cancer patients more objectively and reliably after radical surgery.

Combining the Fibrinogen/Albumin Ratio and Systemic Inflammation Response Index Predicts Survival in Resectable Gastric Cancer

Aims

Predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer using tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) staging is difficult as patients with the same TNM stage exhibit different prognoses.

Methods

This study investigated the prognostic value of the preoperative fibrinogen/albumin ratio (FAR)-systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) score in resectable gastric cancer (rGC).

Results

Clinicopathological features of 231 rGC patients were analysed retrospectively. Patients were divided into three groups: FAR-SIRI score 2 (FAR ≥ 0.071 and SIRI ≥ 0.84), 1 (FAR < 0.071 and SIRI ≥ 0.84), and 0 (SIRI < 0.84). Higher FAR-SIRI scores were associated with larger tumours, poorer differentiation, and advanced TNM stage (P < 0.05). Compared to those with FAR-SIRI scores of 0, patients with scores of 2 had poorer overall survival (OS). The FAR-SIRI score was an independent prognostic factor for OS in rGC.

Conclusion

The present data demonstrated that FAR-SIRI scores predicted radical gastric cancer surgical outcomes and may serve as a blood marker for identifying high-risk patients.

Prognostic Value of the Systemic Inflammation Response Index in Patients with Adenocarcinoma of the Oesophagogastric Junction: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Systemic inflammation is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumours. Based on preoperative neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte counts, a new systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) was established, and the predictive ability of the SIRI for the survival of patients with adenocarcinoma of the oesophagogastric junction (AEG) was evaluated by propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. A total of 302 AEG patients undergoing radical surgery were studied. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the predictive capabilities of the SIRI. PSM was implemented to balance the baseline characteristics. The results showed that the SIRI, PLR, NLR, and MLR were associated with overall survival (OS) in AEG patients based on the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the SIRI was an independent prognostic factor. The AUC for the SIRI was significantly greater than that for the NLR, PLR, and MLR in predicting the 3- and 5-year OS of AEG patients. In PSM analysis, the SIRI remained an independent prognostic indicator of OS in AEG patients. The SIRI is a novel, simple, and inexpensive prognostic predictor for AEG. The prognostic value of the SIRI is superior to that of the PLR, NLR, and MLR. The SIRI can be used to distinguish the prognosis of AEG patients with different TNM stages and can be an important supplement to TNM staging.

Macrophage-specific hypoxia-inducible factor-1α deletion suppresses the development of liver tumors in high-fat diet-fed obese and diabetic mice

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

Chronic inflammation of the liver is often observed with obesity or type 2 diabetes. In these pathological conditions, the immunological cells, such as macrophages, play important roles in the development or growth of liver cancer. Recently, it was reported that hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a key molecule for the acquisition of inflammatory M1 polarity of macrophages. In the present study, we examined the effects of altered macrophage polarity on obesity- and diabetes-associated liver cancer using macrophage-specific HIF-1α knockout (KO) mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To induce liver cancer in the mice, diethylnitrosamine, a chemical carcinogen, was used. Both KO mice and wild-type littermates were fed either a high-fat diet (HFD) or normal chow. They were mainly analyzed 6 months after HFD feeding.

RESULTS

Development of liver cancer after HFD feeding was 45% less in KO mice than in wild-type littermates mice. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 was also lower in the liver of KO mice. Those effects of HIF-1α deletion in macrophages were not observed in normal chow-fed mice. Furthermore, the size of liver tumors did not differ between KO and wild-type littermates mice, even those on a HFD. These results suggest that the activation of macrophage HIF-1α by HFD is involved not in the growth, but in the development of liver cancer with the enhanced oncogenic extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 signaling in hepatocytes.

CONCLUSIONS

The activation of macrophage HIF-1α might play important roles in the development of liver cancer associated with diet-induced obesity and diabetes.

Utility of Inflammatory Markers in Predicting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Survival after Liver Transplantation

Inflammatory markers have been studied in cancers and chronic states of inflammation. They are thought to correlate with tumor pathology through disruption of normal homeostasis. Markers such as neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) among others have shown promise as prognostic tools in various cancers. In this study, we evaluate complete blood count based inflammatory markers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to predict overall and recurrence-free survival of patients after liver transplant. Between 2001 and 2017, all HCC indicated liver transplants were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria included presence of complete blood cell counts with differential within three months prior to transplantation. Exclusion criteria included retransplantation and inadequate posttransplant followup. A total of 160 patients with HCC were included in the study. Of those, 74.4% had hepatitis C virus as the underlying cause of HCC. Calculated Model for End stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores were statistically worse in patients with elevated NLR (≥5), derived NLR (≥3), and low lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) (<3.45), whereas elevated platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (≥150) did not correlate with MELD. Of the tumor characteristics, low LMR was associated with tumor presence and microvascular invasion on explant. Though overall survival trended towards better outcomes with low NLR and dNLR and high LMR, these did not reach statistical significance. High LMR also trended towards better recurrence-free survival without statistical significance. Low PLR was associated with statistically significant overall and recurrence-free survival. In conclusion, while prior studies in HCC have identified NLR as surrogate for tumor burden and survival, in this study we highlight that PLR is a good surrogate of mortality and recurrence-free survival in HCC transplant patients. Further, future study of PLR, NLR, and LMR in larger HCC populations before and after interventions may help clarify their clinical utility as a simple and noninvasive clinical tool as prognostic markers.

Biomarkers for Evaluating the Inflammation Status in Patients with Cancer

Inflammation can be a causative factor for carcinogenesis or can result from a consequence of cancer progression. Moreover, cancer therapeutic interventions can also induce an inflammatory response. Various inflammatory parameters are used to assess the inflammatory status during cancer treatment. It is important to select the most optimal biomarker among these parameters. Additionally, suitable biomarkers must be examined if there are no known parameters. We briefly reviewed the published literature for the use of inflammatory parameters in the treatment of patients with cancer. Most studies on inflammation evaluated the correlation between host characteristics, effect of interventions, and clinical outcomes. Additionally, the levels of C-reactive protein, albumin, lymphocytes, and platelets were the most commonly used laboratory parameters, either independently or in combination with other laboratory parameters and clinical characteristics. Furthermore, the immune parameters are classically examined using flow cytometry, immunohistochemical staining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. However, gene expression profiling can aid in assessing the overall peri-interventional immune status. The checklists of guidelines, such as STAndards for Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy and REporting recommendations for tumor MARKer prognostic studies should be considered when designing studies to investigate the inflammatory parameters. Finally, the data should be interpreted after adjusting for clinically important variables, such as age and cancer stage.

Prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the prognostic role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) for survival is still controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the prognostic effect of TILs in HCC.

METHODS

We identify studies from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to evaluate the prognostic value of TILs in patients with HCC. A meta-analysis was conducted to estimate overall survival and disease-free survival. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated employing fixed-effect or random-effect models depending on the heterogeneity of the included trials.

RESULTS

A total of 7905 patients from 46 observational studies were enrolled. For TILs subsets, the density of CD8+, FOXP3+, CD3+, and Granzyme B+ lymphocytes was significantly associated with improved survival (P < .05). The density of FOXP3+ TILs in intratumor (IT) was the most significant prognostic marker (pooled HR = 1.894; 95% CI = 1.659-2.164; P < .001). Patients with high infiltration of CD8+ TILs in IT (pooled HR = 0.676; 95% CI = 0.540-0.845; P = .001) or in margin of tumor (MT) (pooled HR = 0.577; 95% CI = 0.437-0.760; P < .001) had better OS. The pooled analysis revealed that high density of Granzyme B+ T-lymphocytes in IT was statistically significant associated with better OS (pooled HR = 0.621; 95% CI = 0.516-0.748; P < .001) and DFS (pooled HR = 0.678; 95% CI = 0.563-0.815; P < .001). It was interesting that high density of CD3+ in IT foreboded worse OS (pooled HR = 1.008; 95% CI = 1.000-1.015; P = .037), but better DFS (pooled HR = 0.596; 95% CI = 0.374-0.948; P = .029).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggested that some TIL subsets could serve as prognostic biomarkers in HCC. High-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to determine if these TILs could serve as targets for immunotherapy in HCC.

Predictive Values of Postoperative and Dynamic Changes of Inflammation Indexes in Survival of Patients with Resected Colorectal Cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic potential of postoperative scores of inflammation indexes and the dynamic changes of scores before and after tumor resection in colorectal cancer patients. The study included 516 colorectal cancer patients with primary colorectal tumor resection. Cox regression was applied to estimate the associations of postoperative and dynamic changes of inflammation indexes with progression-free survival and overall survival. As results, we found that higher postoperative neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), neutrophil and monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (NMLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and systemic immune inflammation index (SII) were associated with shorter progression-free survival. The increased NLR, NMLR, PLR, SII and C-reaction protein (CRP) to albumin (ALB) ratio (CAR) were associated with poor progression-free survival, with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.92 (1.27-2.90), 1.46 (1.11-2.09), 2.10 (1.34-3.30), 1.81 (1.22-2.70) and 1.65 (1.03-2.67), respectively. Postoperative NMLR, SII, CAR, and their dynamic changes were also significantly correlated with overall survival, with the HRs (95% CIs) of 2.63 (1.30-3.97), 2.44 (1.43-4.17), 2.74 (1.31-5.74), 2.08 (1.21-3.60), 1.97 (1.12-3.45) and 2.55 (1.21-5.38) respectively. In conclusion, postoperative inflammation indexes and their dynamic changes, particularly for NMLR, SII and CAR are promising prognostic predictors of CRC patients.

Perivascular Tumor-Infiltrating Leukocyte Scoring for Prognosis of Resected Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

Liver resection is a curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) are important players in predicting HCC recurrence. However, the invasive margin could not be confirmed as relevant for HCC. The migration of immune cells into HCC may originate from intratumoral vessels. No previous study has examined perivascular (PV) infiltration. Tumors from 60 patients were examined. Immunohistochemistry was performed against CD3, CD8, CD20, and CD66b. TILs were counted in the PV regions using an algorithm for quantification of the tumor immune stroma (QTiS). The results were correlated with overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), clinical parameters, and laboratory values. PV infiltration of TILs was predominant in resected HCC. Higher PV infiltration of CD3⁺ (p = 0.016) and CD8⁺ (p = 0.028) independently predicted better OS and DFS, respectively. CD20⁺ showed a trend towards better DFS (p = 0.076). Scoring of CD3⁺, CD8⁺, and CD20⁺ independently predicted OS and DFS (p < 0.01). The amount of perivascular-infiltrating CD3⁺ cells is an independent predictor of better OS, and CD8⁺ cells independently predict prolonged DFS. Our novel perivascular infiltration scoring (PVIS) can independently predict both DFS and OS in resected HCC patients.

Preclinical and Clinical Therapeutic Strategies Affecting Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) most often develops in patients with underlying liver disease characterized by chronic nonresolving inflammation. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are one of the most abundant immune cell populations within the tumoral microenvironment. As key actors of cancer-related inflammation, they promote tumor growth by suppression of effective anticancer immunity, stimulation of angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling. Therefore, they have become an attractive and promising target for immunotherapy. The heterogeneity of TAM subtypes and their origin and dynamic phenotype during the initiation and progression of HCC has been partially unraveled and forms the base for the development of therapeutic agents. Current approaches are aimed at decreasing the population of TAMs by depleting macrophages present in the tumor, blocking the recruitment of bone marrow-derived monocytes, and/or functionally reprogramming TAMs to antitumoral behavior. In this review, the preclinical evolution and hitherto clinical trials for TAM-targeted therapy in HCC will be highlighted.

Combined Preoperative ALBI and FIB-4 Is Associated with Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Curative Hepatectomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Chronic inflammatory response is a risk factor for hepatocarcinogenesis and recurrence. This study aimed to develop a nomogram incorporating the combined albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scores and the peritumoral inflammation score (PIS) to predict postoperative recurrence-free survival (RFS) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

The prognostic roles of preoperative ALBI and FIB-4 scores for HCC recurrence were investigated, and a nomogram was developed. The predictive ability of the nomogram was compared with the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging systems for HCC. Necroinflammatory activity in the peritumoral liver tissues was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining.

RESULTS

Combined ALBI and FIB-4 was associated with PIS in the training and validation cohorts (r = 0.342 and 0.473, both P < 0.001), and all of the scores exhibited predictive value for RFS of HCC. The independent predictive factors of RFS such as AFP, tumor number, tumor size, microvascular invasion, PIS, and combined ALBI and FIB-4 were included in the corresponding nomogram. In the training cohort, the C-index of the RFS nomogram was 0.722. ROC analyses showed that the RFS nomogram had a larger AUC (0.739) than the AJCC and BCLC staging systems. These results were verified by the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed nomogram incorporating PIS and combined ALBI and FIB-4 was associated with recurrence for HCC following curative hepatectomy.

HBV-DNA Load-Related Peritumoral Inflammation and ALBI Scores Predict HBV Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognosis after Curative Resection

Background

Both persistent inflammatory activity and liver function damage contribute to a poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to develop nomograms that incorporate hepatitis virus B (HBV)-related peritumoral inflammation score (PIS) and liver function based on ALBI score to predict postoperative outcomes of HCC.

Methods

The prognostic roles of HBV-related preoperative PIS and ALBI scores in HCC recurrence were examined, and then two nomograms were constructed. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomograms were compared with AJCC and BCLC staging systems of HCC.

Results

PIS (HBV-PIS) and ALBI scores (HBV-ALBI) with different HBV-DNA loads had association with overall survival (OS) and/or recurrence-free survival (RFS) of HCC. The independent predictors of OS and RFS were incorporated into the corresponding nomograms. In the training cohort, the C-indexes of OS and RFS nomograms were 0.751 and 0.736, respectively. ROC analyses showed that both OS and RFS nomograms had larger AUC (0.775 and 0.739, respectively) than AJCC and BCLC staging systems. These results were verified by the internal and external validation cohorts.

Conclusion

The proposed nomograms, including HBV-DNA load-related PIS and ALBI scores, were accurate in predicting survival for HCC after curative resection.

Comparison and validation of the prognostic value of preoperative systemic immune cells in hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatectomy

In this study, we aimed to compare and validate the prognostic abilities of preoperative systemic immune cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative hepatectomy. We developed two nomograms to predict the postoperative recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) after comparisons of the systemic immune cell prognostic scores. The two nomograms were constructed based on 305 patients who underwent curative hepatectomy for HCC. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomograms were compared with six commonly used staging systems for HCC. The results were validated using bootstrap resampling and an internal validation cohort of 142 patients and an external validation cohort of 169 patients. Necroinflammatory activity in peritumoral liver tissues in the primary cohort was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte ratio (NMLR) had a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) value at both RFS (AUC = 0.603) and OS (AUC = 0.726) compared to that of other systemic immune cell prognostic scores. The independent predictors of RFS or OS, including α‐fetoprotein (AFP), tumor size, tumor number, microvascular invasion, and NMLR, were incorporated into the two nomograms. In the primary cohort, the C‐indexes of the RFS and OS nomograms were 0.705 and 0.797, respectively. The ROC analyses showed that the two nomograms had larger AUC values (0.664 for RFS and 0.821 for OS) than those of the American Joint Commission on Cancer seventh edition, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program, Japan Integrated Staging Score, Okuda stage, and the Vauthey's system. These results were verified by internal and external validations. The nomogram‐predicted probability of RFS was associated with peritumoral necroinflammatory activity scores (r = 0.304, P < 0.001). The proposed nomograms had accurate prognostic prediction in patients with HCC after curative hepatectomy.

Metavir and FIB-4 scores are associated with patient prognosis after curative hepatectomy in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study at two centers in China

Although Metavir and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scores are typically used to assess the severity of liver fibrosis, the relationship between these scores and patient outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the severity of hepatic fibrosis in HBV-related HCC patients after curative resection. We examined the prognostic roles of the Metavir and preoperative FIB-4 scores in 432 HBV-HCC patients who underwent curative resection at two different medical centers located in western (Chongqing) and eastern (Shanghai) China. In the testing set (n = 108), the Metavir, FIB-4, and combined Metavir/FIB-4 scores were predictive of overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Additionally, they were associated with several clinicopathologic variables. In the validation set (n = 324), the Metavir, FIB-4, and combined Metavir/FIB-4 scores were associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients after curative resection. Importantly, in the negative alpha-fetoprotein subgroup (≤ 20 ng/mL), the FIB-4 index (I vs. II) could discriminate between patient outcomes (high or low OS and RFS). Thus Metavir, preoperative FIB-4, and combined Metavir/FIB-4 scores are prognostic markers in HBV-HCC patients after curative hepatectomy.

Pretreatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio: useful prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver malignancy and the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Liver resection (LR) and liver transplantation (LT) are the only curative modalities for HCC. Despite recent advances and the adoption of the Milan and University of California, San Francisco, criteria, HCC recurrence after LR and LT remains a challenge. Several markers and prognostic scores have been proposed to predict tumor aggressiveness and supplement radiological data; among them, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has recently gained significant interest. An elevated NLR is thought to predispose to HCC recurrence by creating a protumorigenic microenvironment through both relative neutrophilia and lymphocytopenia. In the present review, we attempted to summarize the published work on the role of pretreatment NLR as a prognostic marker for HCC following LR and LT. A total of 13 LT and 18 LR studies were included from 2008 to 2015. Pretransplant NLR was most often predictive of HCC recurrence, recurrence-free survival, and overall survival. NLR was, however, more variably and less clearly associated with worse outcomes following LR.

ERK pathway activation contributes to the tumor-promoting effects of hepatic stellate cells in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Activated hepatic stellate cell (aHSC) play a critical role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression crosstalking with cancer cell via various signaling pathways. The aim of our study is to explore the tumor-promoting effects of aHSCs on HCC via ERK pathway.

METHODS

α-SMA, p-ERK and p-JNK expression levels in tumoral and peritumoral tissues of HCC were assessed by immunohistochemical and western blotting. The protein and mRNA expression levels in human hepatoma cell treated with aHSC conditioned medium (CM) were determined by western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. Cell migration and invasion abilities were assessed using transwell assays. The proliferation ability of HCC cells induced by aHSCs-CM was detected by CCK-8 assay and cell cycle analysis.

RESULTS

We found that aHSC number was positively correlated with p-ERK expression levels in tumoral tissues and aHSC-CM could time-dependently promote PCNA, p-ERK expression in HCC cells. Moreover, aHSC-CM enhanced HCC cells proliferation via ERK. Additionally, aHSC upregulated c-jun and cyclinD1 expression levels, accelerating the transition from G1 to the S phase of HCC cells, and this effect could be arrested by inhibiting ERK pathway. Furthermore, aHSC-CM promoted migration and invasion of HCC cells via ERK. Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) phenomenon could be reversed by ERK suppression.

CONCLUSION

High expression of p-ERK and aHSCs may be associated with the aggressive behavior of HCC cells. Secretions from aHSCs could promote proliferation and EMT of HCC cells via ERK1/2/c-jun/cyclinD1 axis or ERK pathway.

The pretreatment lymphocyte to monocyte ratio predicts clinical outcome for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis

The lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) has been reported to predict clinical outcomes in multiple malignancies. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic role of pretreatment LMR in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of seven studies comprising 2,738 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled results showed that elevated LMR was significantly associated with increased overall survival (OS) (HR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.20–0.47, p < 0.001), disease-free survival (DFS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.49–0.67, p < 0.001). The favorable prognostic impact of high LMR on OS was observed in all subgroup with different sample size, type of publication, NOS score, and the cut-off value of LMR. In addition, low LMR was significantly correlated with TNM stage and BCLC stage. We therefore conclude that elevated pretreatment LMR could be a favorable prognostic factor for clinical outcomes in patients with HCC.

Necroptosis mediates the antineoplastic effects of the soluble fraction of polysaccharide from red wine in Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats

Polysaccharides are substances that modify the biological response to several stressors. The present study investigated the antitumor activity of the soluble fraction of polysaccharides (SFP), extracted from cabernet franc red wine, in Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats. The monosaccharide composition had a complex mixture, suggesting the presence of arabinoglactans, mannans, and pectins. Treatment with SFP (30 and 60mg/kg, oral) for 14days significantly reduced the tumor weight and volume compared with controls. Treatment with 60mg/kg SFP reduced blood monocytes and neutrophils, reduced the tumor activity of N-acetylglucosaminidase, myeloperoxidase, and nitric oxide, increased blood lymphocytes, and increased the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in tumor tissue. Treatment with SFP also induced the expression of the cell necroptosis-related genes Rip1 and Rip3. The antineoplastic effect of SFP appears to be attributable to its action on the immune system by controlling the tumor microenvironment and stimulating TNF-α production, which may trigger the necroptosis pathway.

Prognostic significance of the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte to tumor-associated macrophage ratio in patients with stage T3N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

PURPOSE

We assessed the prognostic significance of, and the relationship between, the pretreatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and the TILs/tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) ratio, in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) of pathological stage T3N0M0 (pT3N0M0).

METHODS

A total of 220 newly diagnosed ESCC patients of stage pT3N0M0 who had not undergone neoadjuvant therapy were included. Densities of CD8+ TILs, CD4+ TILs, CD45RO+ TILs, and CD68+ TAMs were assessed by immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarray cores from all 220 pT3N0M0 ESCC patients (who underwent radical resection). Hematological biomarkers including lymphocyte and monocyte counts were obtained from routine preoperative blood test data, and the LMR and TILs/TAMs ratios calculated. Cutoff finder for survival prediction was plotted to find out the optimal cutoff point for each parameter.

RESULTS

The LMR and TILs/TAMs ratios were interrelated. On univariate analyses of data from the entire cohort, the LMR, CD45RO/CD68 ratio, and CD8/CD68 ratio were significantly associated with both OS and disease-free survival. Only the CD45RO/CD68 ratio was independently prognostic of survival on multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognostic significance of the CD45RO/CD68 ratio was higher than that of the LMR. The CD45RO/CD68 ratio is a useful independent prognostic marker in patients with pT3N0M0 ESCC who have undergone complete resection without neoadjuvant therapy.