Nomogram Predict Overall Survival of Patients with Thymic Epithelial Tumors After Surgery
Abstract Background: Hematological indicators and clinical characteristics play an important role in the evaluation of the progression and prognosis of thymic epithelial tumors. Therefore, we aimed to combine these potential indicators to establish a prognostic nomogram to determine the overall survival (OS) of patients with thymic epithelial tumors undergoing thymectomy. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 167 patients who underwent thymectomy between May 2004 and August 2015. Cox regression analysis were performed to determine the potential indicators related to prognosis and combine these indicators to create a nomogram for visual prediction. The prognostic predictive ability of the nomogram was evaluated using the consistency index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and risk stratification. Decision curve analysis was used to evaluate the net benefits of the model. Results: Preoperative albumin levels, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), T stage, and underlying diseases (with hypertension and/or diabetes) were included in the nomogram. In the training cohort, the nomogram showed a stronger prognostic predictive ability than the T staging (C index: 0.886 vs 0.725). Calibration curves for the overall survival (OS) were in good agreement with the standard lines in cohorts. The net benefit of the nomogram was higher than that of the T staging model. Conclusions: The nomogram showed better performance in predicting the prognosis and survival of this patient population than the T staging prediction model. And it has potential to identify high-risk patients at an early stage. This is a relatively novel approach for the prediction of OS in this patient population.