Prognostic value of inflammation-based indices in patients with resected hepatocellular carcinoma
Abstract Purpose: As is well recognized that inflammation plays a crucial role in the genesis and progression of various cancer. Here we investigate the prognostic value of a novel index: the combination of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet distribution width (coNLR-PDW) in post-operation patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: 250 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy were retrospectively analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized to determine the optimal cutoff values of continuous variables, including the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet distribution width (PDW). Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test were used to compare survival differences across three groups stratified by the coNLR-PDW score. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were adopted to identify independent factors of HCC patient’s prognosis.Results: 1.59 and 13.0 were perceived as the optimal cutoff value for NLR and PDW based on the ROC curve, respectively. Kaplan-Meier method revealed that higher coNLR-PDW score predicts poorer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P <0.001). coNLR-PDW was demonstrated as independent factor for both OS and DFS using Cox regression analysis (HR: 3.674, 95%CI: 2.092-6.452, P <0.001 for OS; HR: 2.166, 95%CI: 1.523-3.082, P <0.001 for DFS).Conclusion: coNLR-PDW is recognized as a valuable biomarker for predicting the survival of patients with HCC.