Impact of the Pretreatment Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Factor in Conventional Chondrosarcoma

Abstract

Conventional chondrosarcoma (CCS) is the most frequent histological subtype of chondrosarcoma (CS). Currently, researchers have paid much attention to the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic biomarker of various diseases. Although a specific value has not yet been established, it is widely recognized as a reflection of the immune system's balance. Studies have shown that NLR has a strong correlation with disease outcomes and has been found to be independently related to the mortality rate caused by some types of cancer. This research aimed to analyze the prognostic significance of preoperative NLR in a cohort of patients with CCS at a reference sarcoma center. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 58 patients with a diagnosis of CCS non-metastatic to evaluate the association between preoperative NLR and overall survival (OS). We used Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional models for our analysis. The study found that CCS patients with high NLR had a significantly increased risk of poor prognosis in OS. We found no association between the NLR and the DFS. Of the 58 patients included in the retrospective cohort, 51.7% were male, with a mean age at diagnosis of 42 years and a standard deviation of ± 13.4. The axial skeleton was the most common site of CCS in 56.9% of the patients (n = 33). The median follow-up time was 39.4 months, ranging from 6 to 66 months. High NLR was significantly associated with lower OS. New prospective studies are needed to better characterize the role of serum markers in the prognosis of these patients and to better plan future treatment.

Keywords: Conventional chondrosarcoma; Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; Prognostic factor in conventional chondrosarcoma.