Pretreatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio as a predictor of survival among patients with ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis

Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers as a Predictive Markers for Ovarian Cancer

Objective

Tumor markers such as CA125 are highly beneficial in predictive ovarian malignancy; however, this advanced test is not always available in remote areas. To address this issue, the author aimed to explore the use of systemic inflammatory biomarkers as complementary modalities for diagnosis of ovarian malignancy.

Methods

This diagnostic study utilized a cross-sectional approach, with outcomes measured by AUC and sensitivity. A total of 132 patients with adnexal tumors were consecutively included and measured a complete blood count. From this, the MLR (Monocyte Lymphocyte Ratio), NLR (Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio), PLR (Platelet Lymphocyte Ratio), SII (Systemic Immune Inflammation Index), and SIRI (Systemic Inflammatory Response Index) biomarkers were calculated. After surgery, histopathological examination was performed as the gold standard and the biomarker predictions were then compared to it, followed by statistical analysis.

Results

The AUC values for MLR, NLR, PLR, SII, and SIRI were 0.70, 0.731, 0.696, 0.743, and 0.722, respectively. The p-values were MLR (0.005), NLR (0.001), PLR (0.001), SII (<0.001), and SIRI (<0.001), respectively. In multivariate analysis, only SII was significant (p = 0.015). The Exp(B) and 95% CI were 5.472 (1.383-21.655). The validity test for SII showed satisfactory results: sensitivity 71.64%, specificity 73.84%, PPV 73.84%, NPV 71.64%, accuracy 72.72%, LR+ 2.74%, and LR- 0.38%.

Conclusion

Systemic inflammatory biomarkers, particularly SII may aid in the predictive markers of early ovarian with diagnostic values nearly as good as CA125 (sensitivity 71.64% vs 75.97%). These biomarkers can serve as complementary predictive markes modalities for ovarian malignancy, especially when advanced tumor marker tests like CA125 are not available in remote areas.

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.

SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY MARKERS - PROGNOSTIC VALUE IN OVARIAN CANCER

Background

Chronic inflammation is associated with different cancers, and is identified as a key pathogenic mechanism in ovarian cancer. The purpose of our study was to evaluate systemic inflammation markers, as predictive and prognostic factors, in ovarian cancer patients with initial surgical treatment.

Subjects and Methods

We performed a retrospective study on 60 ovarian cancer patients with primary cytoreduction surgery, between 2010-2018, with a follow-up period of at least one year. We analyzed systemic inflammation markers and their correlations with the clinical, paraclinical, tumor characteristics, or treatment particularities, and evaluated them as prognostic factors for overall survival.

Results

In the univariate analysis, no statistically significantly differences were observed, by correlating the systemic inflammation markers with age, reproductive status, FIGO stage, or type of cytoreduction. Higher neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were statistically significant associated with deceased patients, and lower lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) had statistical significance for living patients. For the patients in the group, the increase of NLR, as well as of PLR leads to the increased risk of death, and the increase of LMR leads to the decrease of this risk. In the multivariate regression analysis, the increase of NLR determined an increased risk of death by 9.7%, and for LMR a reduced risk of death by 46.9%.

Conclusions

Systemic inflammation markers had no statistical significance correlated with age, reproductive status, FIGO stage, serous cancer type, or type of cytoreduction but only with overall survival. NLR is an independent risk factor, while LMR is an independent protection factor as well as optimal cytoreduction.

Prognostic Role of Neutrophil, Monocyte and Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratios in Advanced Ovarian Cancer According to the Time of Debulking Surgery

Despite a multimodal radical treatment, mortality of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AEOC) remains high. Host-related factors, such as systemic inflammatory response and its interplay with the immune system, remain underexplored. We hypothesized that the prognostic impact of this response could vary between patients undergoing primary debulking surgery (PDS) and those undergoing interval debulking surgery (IDS). Therefore, we evaluated the outcomes of two surgical groups of newly diagnosed AEOC patients according to the neutrophil, monocyte and platelet to lymphocyte ratios (NLR, MLR, PLR), taking median ratio values as cutoffs. In the PDS group (n = 61), low NLR and PLR subgroups showed significantly better overall survival (not reached (NR) vs. 72.7 months, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.9-95.2, p = 0.019; and NR vs. 56.1 months, 95% CI: 40.9-95.2, p = 0.004, respectively) than those with high values. Similar results were observed in progression free survival. NLR and PLR-high values resulted in negative prognostic factors, adjusting for residual disease, BRCA1/2 status and stage (HR 2.48, 95% CI: 1.03-5.99, p = 0.043, and HR 2.91, 95% CI: 1.11-7.64, p = 0.03, respectively). In the IDS group (n = 85), ratios were not significant prognostic factors. We conclude that NLR and PLR may have prognostic value in the PDS setting, but none in IDS, suggesting that time of surgery can modulate the prognostic impact of baseline complete blood count (CBC).

The Pretreatment Controlling Nutritional Status Score in Ovarian Cancer: Influence on Prognosis, Surgical Outcome, and Postoperative Complication Rate

Introduction The Controlling Nutritional (CONUT) Status score is an established predictor of impaired prognosis in patients with solid tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the CONUT score for overall survival and perioperative complication rates in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Patients In this retrospective study we assessed the data of 337 consecutive patients with ovarian cancer. The CONUT score was associated with surgical outcome, postoperative complications and clinicopathological parameters. We used univariate log-rank test and multivariable Cox regression models to evaluate the association between pretreatment CONUT scores and survival.

Results A low CONUT score (0 – 2) was associated with an early FIGO stage (p = 0.004), complete tumor resection (p < 0.001), less neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.017) and other histologies than serous cystadenocarcinoma (p = 0.006). Postoperative complications were observed in 51.4% and 60.5% of patients with a CONUT score of 0 – 2 and a score > 2, respectively (p = 0.161). A shorter overall survival was observed in patients with a CONUT score > 2 compared to patients with a low CONUT score, with 5-year overall survival rates of 31.5% and 58.7%, respectively (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, both advanced age (p < 0.001) and FIGO stage (p < 0.001), residual disease (p < 0.001) and a high CONUT score (p = 0.048) were independently associated with unfavorable overall survival.

Conclusion Pretreatment CONUT score is an independent prognostic marker for overall survival and associated with successful surgery. Patients with a high CONUT score might benefit from pretreatment nutritional intervention.

Inexpensive Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers in Ovarian Cancer: An Umbrella Systematic Review of 17 Prognostic Meta-Analyses

The association of several inflammation-based biomarkers [lymphocyte-to-monocyte, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios (LMR, NLR, and PLR, respectively)] with the survival of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients has been extensively investigated in several systematic reviews and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies. The aim of this umbrella systematic review is to appraise all available results in published MAs that explored the association between these biomarkers and EOC outcomes. An umbrella systematic review of the current evidence for systemic inflammatory biomarkers in the peripheral blood of EOC patients was performed by searching several databases including PubMed/Medline and Web of Science. The quality of the MAs was appraised using the AMSTAR-2 tool as well as other qualitative criteria. The evidence was graded from convincing (Class I) to weak (Class IV). Our umbrella review appraised 17 MAs of retrospective studies (range: 7-16) with a number of enrolled patients ranging from 1,636 to 4,910 patients in each MA. All these MAs demonstrated that pretreatment high NLR and PLR, as well as low LMR, were independent predictors of poor overall survival and progression-free survival in EOC. Nearly all published MAs were conducted by Chinese researchers (16/17) and were redundant in their character. Another issue in these MAs is the absence of prior PROSPERO database registration as well as the earlier exclusion of the gray literature. On the other hand, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analyses Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE)-based reporting guidelines were used in nine out of the 17 MAs. A good number of MAs have transparently provided funding acknowledgment. The AMSTAR-2-based assessment showed low quality in 11 out of the 17 reviewed MAs. This negative rating was largely due to the absence of critical domains. Finally, all evaluated MAs were rated as Class III or IV (suggestive and weak, respectively). Despite the power of MAs in increasing sampling and precision, the quality of the current non-randomized evidence on this topic is still weak.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020201493.

Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index in Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Previous studies have investigated the role of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) as a prognostic factor for gastric cancer (GC) patients, although with inconsistent results. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the prognostic value of SII in GC through meta-analysis.

Methods

We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for relevant studies investigating the prognostic role of SII in GC up to December 2019. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) related to overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were combined. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were pooled to assess the correlation between SII and clinicopathological features of GC.

Results

A total of eight studies, comprising 4,236 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled analysis indicated that a high pretreatment SII predicted poor OS (HR=1.40, 95% CI=1.08–1.81, p=0.010) but not poor DFS (HR=1.30, 95% CI=0.92–1.83, p=0.140) in GC. In addition, an elevated SII correlated with an advanced tumor–node–metastasis stage (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.40–3.92, p=0.001), T3–T4 stage (OR=2.25, 95% CI=1.34–3.77, p=0.002), positive lymph node metastasis (OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.12–2.87, p=0.016), and tumor size ≥ 5 cm (OR=2.28, 95% CI=1.62–3.22, p<0.001) in patients with GC.

Conclusions

A high pretreatment SII significantly associated with poorer survival outcomes as well as several clinical characteristics in GC. We suggest that SII could be monitored to guide prognostication and provide reliable information on the risk of disease progression in GC.

The Effects of Water Immersion during First Stage of Labor on Postpartum Systemic Inflammatory Response

OBJECTIVE

The systemic inflammatory response is a cascade of physiologic reactions that arise in response to trauma, infection, burn, or any kind of injury. This study aimed to determine the effects of water immersion during the first stage of labor on the systemic inflammatory indices in the postpartum period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective study, 125 healthy multiparous women with uncomplicated pregnancies between 37 and 41 weeks of gestation who elected for immersion in water during the first stage of labor were compared with multiparous uncomplicated term women who had conventional vaginal births on land (n=125). Age, parity, body mass index (BMI), gestational age, duration of labor, birth weight, Apgar scores, neonatal intensive care unit admissions, and ante- and postpartum whole blood parameters were noted. Antepartum and postpartum neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) were calculated for all patients as systemic inflammatory indices.

RESULTS

Demographic characteristics and birth outcomes of both groups were similar except BMI, which was statistically significantly higher in the water immersion group. There were no statistical differences in antepartum NLR, MLR, PLR, and MPV between the 2 groups. However, postpartum NLR, MLR, PLR, and MPV were statistically significantly lower in the water immersion group compared to the controls.

CONCLUSION

Water immersion during the first stage of labor might decrease systemic inflammatory indices in the early postpartum period.

Prognostic value of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and systemic immune-inflammation index in non-small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic values of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with brain metastases from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials & methods: We conducted Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox analysis to evaluate the prognostic values of NLR, PLR, LMR and SII. Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the patients in low LMR, high NLR, PLR and SII groups were associated with shorter overall survival. Multivariable Cox analysis revealed LMR and SII were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (p = 0.002 and p = 0.004, respectively). Conclusion: LMR and SII are of significant values in clinical prognostic evaluation for patients with brain metastases from NSCLC.

Evaluation of monocyte to HDL cholesterol ratio and other inflammatory markers in patients with psoriasis

Background

Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease frequently associated with serious comorbidities.

Objectives

To investigate the systemic inflammatory burden in psoriasis and to assess the correlation between traditional and novel inflammatory markers and the severity of the disease.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 50 healthy volunteers. Data including demographics, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index scores, and laboratory results were analyzed and compared.

Results

Compared with the control group, the psoriatic patients had significantly higher high sensitive C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, leukocyte, neutrophil, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte to high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio, and aspartate aminotransferase levels, and significantly lower HDL cholesterol levels (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in procalcitonin, lymphocyte, monocyte, hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width, platelet, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, glucose, alanine aminotransaminase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol levels between the two groups (p > 0.05). The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was positively correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and monocyte to HDL cholesterol ratio, and negatively correlated with lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (p < 0.05).

Study limitations

This was a single-center study with relatively limited numbers of patients and controls.

Conclusions

The data show that high sensitivity C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte to HDL cholesterol ratio can be used as markers of systemic inflammation in patients with psoriasis. Moreover, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, monocyte to HDL cholesterol ratio and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio are closely related to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score, and they may be regarded as objective indicators in determining the disease severity.

Prediction of Survival Benefit of Filgrastim in Adult and Pediatric Patients With Acute Radiation Syndrome

Acute exposure to high doses of radiation leads to severe myelosuppression, but few treatments are currently available to treat hematopoietic syndrome of acute radiation syndrome. Granulocyte colony stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim) stimulate proliferation of neutrophil precursors and enhance mature neutrophil function. Owing to ethical constraints on conducting clinical research in lethally irradiated humans, we developed a model‐based strategy to integrate preclinical experience in irradiated nonhuman primates (NHPs) and other clinical myelosuppressive conditions to inform filgrastim dosing to treat hematopoietic syndrome of acute radiation syndrome. Models predicting neutrophil counts and overall survival based on drug exposures were calibrated and scaled from NHPs to adult and pediatric human subjects. Several scenarios were examined investigating variations in filgrastim doses, dose frequency, treatment initiation, and duration, as well as the effect of age and radiation dose rate. Model‐based simulations and established safety profiles supported that a subcutaneous filgrastim dose of 10 µg/kg once daily provides a significant survival benefit (50%) over placebo in both adults and children, provided that the treatment is initiated within 1–14 days after radiation exposure and lasts 2–3 weeks. For treatment durations of longer than 3 weeks, filgrastim treatment is not expected to provide significantly greater benefit. This survival benefit is expected to hold for the wide range of radiation doses and dose rates (0.01–1,000 Gy/hours) examined.

CircRNA_100395 inhibits cell proliferation and metastasis in ovarian cancer via regulating miR-1228/p53/epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) axis

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to regulate the incidence of tumor by regulating the transcriptional level and post-transcriptional level of tumor-related genes, and are significantly correlated with tumor metastasis and progression. CircRNA_100395 (circ_100395) has been reported to suppress lung cancer cell proliferation, and might act as an oncogene in deveopment of various cancers. However, the expression and function of circ_100395 in ovarian cancer has not been systematically researched. Methods: The expression of circ_100395 in ovarian cancer tissues was detected by Real-time Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), while the relationship between circ_100395 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was further analyzed. After increasing the expression of circ_100395 by plasmid transfection in ovarian cancer cells, we further investigated the cell proliferation, invasion and migration by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), and Transwell assays. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway was also measured by western blotting. In addition, the relationship among circ_100395, miR-1228 and p53 in ovarian cancer, was explored by luciferase reporter assay. Results: The expression of circ_100395 was found to be significantly down-regulated in ovarian cancer, while low expression of circ_100395 was highly correlated with the poor outcomes. In addition, upregulation of circ_100395 could significantly inhibit tumor growth, metastasis and EMT signaling pathway in ovarian cancer. Furthermore, the expression level of circ_100395 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-1228, and with the addition of miR-1228 could reverse anti-cell proliferation effect induced by circ_100395 in ovarian cancer cells. In addition, p53 might be the key target of circ_100395 / miR-1228 axis in ovarian cancer. Conclusion: CircRNA_100395 could inhibit cell growth and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells via regulating the miR-1228/p53/EMT axis.