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Observational Study
. 2025 May 2;104(18):e42261.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000042261.

The prognostic value of halp score in predicting the efficacy of nivolumab treatment in metastatic malignant melanoma patients: A real-life, retrospective, single center analysis

Serdar Ata  1 , Tolga Köşeci  2 , Burcu Arslan Benli  1 , Ahmet Ziya Bayhan  1 , Oğuzhan Kesen  1 , Ali Alper Solmaz  1 , Hakan Demir  1 , Timuçin Çil  1 , Berna Bozkurt Duman  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

The prognostic value of halp score in predicting the efficacy of nivolumab treatment in metastatic malignant melanoma patients: A real-life, retrospective, single center analysis

Serdar Ata et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Patients with metastatic malignant melanoma have a survival rate of less than one year. Nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody against programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor, has improved survival in patients without BRAF mutations. The HALP score, calculated from hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet levels, provides information about a patient immune and nutritional status. High HALP scores have been associated with a better prognosis in various cancers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of high HALP scores on response to nivolumab treatment in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. A retrospective study was conducted on 44 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with nivolumab at Adana City Training and Research Hospital between 2014 and 2021. Patients who received dabrafenib-trametinib before nivolumab treatment were excluded. The HALP scores were calculated using laboratory parameters before the first nivolumab treatment. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0. The study included 22 female and 22 male patients with a mean age of 61.4 ± 15.6 years. Of the patients, 10 (27.2%) had a positive BRAF mutation, whereas 34 (77.3%) did not. The HALP score cutoff value was determined as 30.1. Patients with high HALP scores had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to those with low HALP scores (PFS: median 5.8 vs 3.1 months, P = .041; OS: median 54.9 vs 14.4 months, P = .005). In this study, we found that high HALP scores were significantly associated with longer PFS and OS in metastatic malignant melanoma patients receiving nivolumab treatment. HALP score was associated with both PFS and OS in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with nivolumab. This immuno-nutritional parameter may be useful in various cancers; however, further prospective studies with larger patient cohorts are needed for clinical application.

Keywords: HALP score; immuno-nutritional parameter; metastatic malignant melanoma; nivolumab; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of study.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The ROC analysis of HALP score. HALP = hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet, ROC = receiver operating characteristic.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The progression-free survival of patients according to HALP score. HALP = hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
The overall survival of patients according to HALP score. HALP = hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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