331 Background: Myeloid Deprived Suppressor Cell (MDSC) has been recoganized as a promising target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, targeted therapy on MDSC failed to display convincing efficacy. Optimization of patient selection to find the most potential beneficiaries might be a solution to this issue. In the present study, we aimed to identify clinical parameters relevant to MDSC level in HCC patients for future MDSC targeted therapy. Methods: In the present study, a series of 55 HCC patients (prospective group) and 20 healthy donors were analyzed investigating frequencies of MDSC in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Results: As a result, we found that MDSC level was increased in HCC patients compared to healthy donors (10.33% vs 1.54%, p< 0.0001). The monocytes (r2= 0.2875, p< 0.0001), neutrophils (r2= 0.3630, p< 0.0001) and platelet counts (r2= 0.0828, p= 0.0331) in circulation was positively associated with MDSC level. Then, the prognostic value of the above predictors was determined in a retrospective database of 243 HCC patients (retrospective group). The baseline characteristics of prospective and retrospective group were similar. Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were confirmed to be an independent predictor for OS ( p= 0.003) with the rest parameters presented negative results. Then, advanced HCC patients were divided into two groups based on PLR value ≤111.23 or > 111.23 according to ROC analysis. Patients with low PLR presented higher 3-month survival rate (57.6% vs 37.6%) compared with patients with high PLR. PLR was associated with aggressive behavior of malignancies, such as distant metastasis and portal vein thrombosis. Conclusions: In summary, the present study firstly indentified blood platelet counts was a predictor of MDSC level in PBMC for HCC patients. And, patients with higher PLR might be the optimal patient subgroup for MDSC targeted therapy.
Prognostic value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio in hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis
