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. 2019 Sep 2:12:7129-7137.
doi: 10.2147/OTT.S217935. eCollection 2019.

Prognostic significance of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation

Yanjun Shen #  1 , Huige Wang #  2 , Xiangmei Chen  3 , Wendong Li  1 , Jinglong Chen  1
Affiliations

Prognostic significance of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation

Yanjun Shen et al. Onco Targets Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks fifth among malignancies globally. Previous studies have shown that systemic inflammatory response, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) are associated with poor prognosis of various types of cancer.

Materials and methods: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was performed using an internal cooling electrode with a 2- or 3-cm exposed tip. The LMR was calculated as the ratio of lymphocytes to monocytes. In order to explore the influence of pretreatment with PLR and LMR on survival of HCC patients undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and RFA, 204 cases with HCC which accepted RFA and TACE were retrospectively analyzed and assigned into 2 groups based on optimal cutoff values for LMR (low: ≤2.13 or high: >2.13) and PLR (low: ≤95.65 or high: >95.65).

Results: Patients with a lower PLR had a longer overall survival (OS) compared to those with a higher PLR (median OS, 20 versus 13 months), and patients with a higher LMR had a longer OS than those with a lower LMR (OS, 22 versus 10 months). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for multiple prognostic factors and identified PLR and LMR as prognostic factors for OS of HCC cases.

Conclusion: We conclude that PLR and LMR, whose detection is generally available and affordable, may be novel noninvasive circulating markers to potentially assist doctors assess the prognosis of patients.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma; inflammation; lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio; platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curves with LMR (A) and PLR (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between LMR and PLR.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The overall survival according to the ratios of platelet to lymphocyte (A) and lymphocyte to monocyte (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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