Prognostic significance of hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, platelet in gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A propensity matched retrospective cohort study

Association Between Hemoglobin-Albumin-Lymphocyte-Platelet Index and Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 Infected Patients

Background

The hemoglobin-albumin-lymphocyte-platelet (HALP) index is a novel biomarker reflecting systemic inflammation and nutritional status which are important for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality. However, the association between HALP and mortality in patients with COVID-19 has yet to be investigated.

Methods

A cohort of COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients admitted to the Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University from April 12, 2022 to June 17, 2022 was retrospectively analyzed. Laboratory examinations on hospital admission, including hemoglobin, albumin, and lymphocyte and platelet, were collected. The association between baseline HALP and in-hospital poor overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression models, interaction, and stratified analyses.

Results

A total of 2147 patients with COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infection were included in the final analyses, and mortality in the hospital was 2.65%. Multivariate analysis indicated that low HALP index was independently associated with in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 patients [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-3.73]. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that low HALP index was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients with age ≥70 (HR = 2.22, CI = 1.18-4.15) and severe cases (HR = 2.09, CI = 1.13-3.86).

Conclusion

HALP index is independently related to in-hospital poor OS for COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients, especially for age ≥70 and severe cases. HALP index on hospital admission is a useful candidate biomarker for identifying high risk of mortality in COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 infected patients.

Impact of preoperative haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score on oral cancer prognosis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the preoperative haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score as a prognostic indicator in oral squamous cell carcinoma treated by radical surgery.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Patients (83 men, 32 women; 65.80 ± 11.47 years) who underwent radical surgery between 2012 and 2022 were included. Factors affecting overall survival and disease-free survival according to the haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score were examined. Patients were categorised into low- and high-score groups using optimal cut-off values obtained from receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS

The low-score group had poorer overall and disease-free survival (p < 0.001 each). Multivariate analysis identified alcohol consumption (hazard ratio [HR], 3.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56-9.41, p = 0.003); vascular invasion (HR, 3.97; 95% CI: 1.60-9.85, p = 0.003); and the haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score (HR, 0.39; 95% CI: 0.20-0.78, p = 0.007) as independent prognostic factors for overall survival and vascular (HR, 3.66; 95% CI: 1.79-7.50, p < 0.001) and lymphovascular (HR, 2.44; 95% CI: 1.36-4.41, p = 0.003) invasion as independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival.

CONCLUSION

The preoperative haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score may be a significant prognostic factor for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma undergoing radical surgery.

Prognostic value of inflammatory nutritional scores in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy: a multicenter study in China

Objective

This study investigates the prognostic significance of inflammatory nutritional scores in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-ESCC) undergoing neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

Methods

A total of 190 LA-ESCC patients were recruited from three medical centers across China. Pre-treatment laboratory tests were utilized to calculate inflammatory nutritional scores. LASSO regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to pinpoint predictors of pathological response. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were employed to assess disease-free survival (DFS) prognostic factors.

Results

The cohort comprised 154 males (81.05%) and 36 females (18.95%), with a median age of 61.4 years. Pathological complete response (pCR) was achieved in 17.38% of patients, while 44.78% attained major pathological response (MPR). LASSO and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified that hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) (P=0.02) as an independent predictors of MPR in LA-ESCC patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests indicated that patients with low HALP, MPR, ypT1-2, ypN0 and, ypTNM I stages had prolonged DFS (P < 0.05). Furthermore, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses underscored HALP (P = 0.019) and ypT (P = 0.029) as independent predictive factors for DFS in ESCC.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that LA-ESCC patients with lower pre-treatment HALP scores exhibit improved pathological response and reduced recurrence rate. As a comprehensive index of inflammatory nutritional status, pre-treatment HALP may be a reliable prognostic marker in ESCC patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.

Association of hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score with risk of cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality in the general population: results from the NHANES 1999-2018

Background and aims

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CCDs) contribute to leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States of America (USA). Hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score, a simple and convenient indicator, could reflect the combination of inflammation and nutritional status. This study was undertaken to evaluate the associations between HALP score and risk of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and all-cause mortality in the general population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2018.

Methods

We identified 21,578 participants during the 1999-2018 cycles of the NHANES in this research. HALP score was calculated as hemoglobin (g/L) × albumin (g/L) × lymphocytes (/L)/platelets (/L). Outcomes were cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality determined by the NHANES-linked National Death Index record and followed until 31 December 2019. Survey-weighted Cox regression, restricted cubic spline analysis, and subgroup analysis were applied to investigate relationships between HALP score and risk of mortality.

Results

This cohort study comprised 49.2% male and 50.8% female, of which the median age was 47 years old. In multivariate survey-weighted Cox regression adjusting for all confounders, compared with participants with low HALP scores, participants with highest HALP score had a lower risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR:0.80, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.89, P < 0.0001) and cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR:0.61, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.75, P < 0.0001), and mediate HALP score had the lowest risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR:0.68, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.75, P < 0.0001) and cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR:0.60, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.75, P < 0.0001). Restricted cubic spline analysis showed a non-linear relationship between HALP score and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (all P values <0.001).

Conclusion

HALP score was independently associated with risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, but not cerebrovascular mortality.

Prognostic Significance of Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte and Platelet (HALP) Score in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose

HALP score consisting of hemoglobin content, albumin content, lymphocyte count, and platelet count can comprehensively evaluate the inflammatory response and nutritional status. Many researchers have indicated that the HALP score is an effective predictor of the overall prognosis of various tumors. However, there is no relevant research to suggest whether the HALP score can predict the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 273 HCC patients who underwent surgical resection. Hemoglobin content, albumin content, lymphocyte count, and platelet count in peripheral blood were measured for each patient. The relationship between the HALP score and overall survival (OS) was investigated.

Results

With a mean of 56.69 ± 1.25 months follow-up, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS was 98.9%, 76.9%, and 55.3% for all patients, respectively. HALP scores (HR=1.708, 95% CI=1.192-2.448, P=0.004) were significant independent risk factors of OS. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 99.3%, 84.3%, and 63.4% for patients with high HALP scores; and 98.6%, 69.8%, and 47.5% for patients with low HALP scores, respectively (P=0.018). In TNM I-II stage patients, compared with high HALP scores, low HALP scores have worse OS (P=0.039). In AFP positive patients, compared with high HALP scores, low HALP scores have worse OS (P=0.042).

Conclusion

Our research showed the preoperative HALP score is an independent predictive factor of overall prognosis, and a low HALP score indicates a worse prognosis in HCC patients who underwent surgical resection.

Advances in immunology and immunotherapy for mesenchymal gastrointestinal cancers

Mesenchymal gastrointestinal cancers are represented by the gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) which occur throughout the whole gastrointestinal tract, and affect human health and economy globally. Curative surgical resections and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the main managements for localized GISTs and recurrent/metastatic GISTs, respectively. Despite multi-lines of TKIs treatments prolonged the survival time of recurrent/metastatic GISTs by delaying the relapse and metastasis of the tumor, drug resistance developed quickly and inevitably, and became the huge obstacle for stopping disease progression. Immunotherapy, which is typically represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has achieved great success in several solid tumors by reactivating the host immune system, and been proposed as an alternative choice for GIST treatment. Substantial efforts have been devoted to the research of immunology and immunotherapy for GIST, and great achievements have been made. Generally, the intratumoral immune cell level and the immune-related gene expressions are influenced by metastasis status, anatomical locations, driver gene mutations of the tumor, and modulated by imatinib therapy. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers are regarded as prognostic indicators of GIST and closely associated with its clinicopathological features. The efficacy of immunotherapy strategies for GIST has been widely explored in pre-clinical cell and mouse models and clinical experiments in human, and some patients did benefit from ICIs. This review comprehensively summarizes the up-to-date advancements of immunology, immunotherapy and research models for GIST, and provides new insights and perspectives for future studies.

Hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score and cancer prognosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13,110 patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

We sought to explore the prognostic role of the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score on survival outcomes in patients with solid tumors by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles through 02 Nov 2022. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were extracted and pooled to assess the association of the HALP score with survival outcomes in solid tumors using Stata 15.0. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcomes were cancer-specific survival (CSS) and progression/disease/recurrence-free survival (PFS/DFS/RFS).

RESULTS

A total of 28 studies (31 cohorts) comprising 13,038 patients were enrolled. A low HALP score was associated with decreased OS (HR, 1.61; 95 % CI, 1.44-1.81; P < 0.001), CSS (HR, 1.80; 95 % CI: 1.54-2.09; P < 0.001) and PFS/DFS/RFS (HR, 1.61; 95 % CI: 1.45-1.80; P < 0.001). The prognostic value of HALP on OS was observed across various tumor types and tumor stages. meta-regression found that tumor stage was the major source of the heterogeneity for OS.

CONCLUSION

A low pretreatment HALP score is a reliable and negative prognostic biomarker for survival outcomes in patients with cancer.

Nomogram Based on Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte and Platelet Score to Predict Overall Survival in Patients with T3-4N0-1 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Purpose

There is still uncertainty regarding the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) based on hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocytes, and platelets (HALP) score. The aim of this study was to build and verify a nomogram using HALP score to investigate the prognostic value of NPC and identify low-risk patients in T3-4N0-1 NPC to guide treatment options.

Patients and methods

A total of 568 NPC patients with stage T3-4N0-1M0 were recruited in the study, who were given either concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or induction chemotherapy (IC) plus CCRT. The prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) were picked by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to generate a nomogram, which appraised by discrimination, calibration and clinical utility. Patients were stratified according to risk scores calculated by the nomogram, and compared to the 8th TNM staging system using the Kaplan-Meier methods.

Results

Multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage, Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV DNA), HALP score, lactate dehydrogenase-to-albumin ratio (LAR) and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) were independent prognostic indicators for OS, and these factors contained in the nomogram. The nomogram demonstrated a significant enhancement over the 8th TNM staging system in terms of assessing OS (C-index, 0.744 vs 0.615 in the training cohort, P < 0.001; 0.757 vs 0.646 in the validation cohort, P = 0.002). Calibration curves displayed good agreement and the stratification in high-risk and low-risk groups resulted in a significant divergence of Kaplan-Meier curves for OS (P < 0.001). In addition, the decision analysis (DCA) curves confirmed satisfactory discriminability and clinical utility.

Conclusion

The HALP score was an independent prognostic factor for NPC. The prognostic function of the nomogram for T3-4N0-1 NPC patients was more accurate compared to the 8th TNM system, facilitating personalized treatment planning.