[Significance of Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Multiple Myeloma]

To investigate the significance of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio(NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio(PLR) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

Eighty patients with multiple myeloma admitted in our hospital from August 2007 to August 2010 were selected. The clinical data of the patients, including hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), white blood cell(WBC) count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), platelet count (PC), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), calcium, albumin, β2 microglobulin and so on were collected and analyzed.

The optimal threshold of NLR was 2.78 (sensitivity: 83.3%, specificity: 43.1%). The optimal threshold of PLR was 155.58 (sensitivity: 67.7%, specificity: 36.9%). All patients were grouped according to NLR and PLR values, patients with high NLR and PLR had lower albumin levels and higher clinical stages. High NLR patients were mainly men, hemoglobin, GFR values, albumin levels were lower, and the white blood cells count and β2 microglobulin level were higher. High PLR patients showed low albumin level and higher clinical stage. Multivariate analysis showed that β2 microglobulin and NLR were prognostic factors in patients with multiple myeloma (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the median survival time was 37 months (95% CI: 21.80-52.19) for patients with high NLR and 66 months (95% CI: 53.19-78.80) for patients with low NLR. The median survival time was 45 months (95% CI: 0.00 to 91.18) in patients with high PLR and 62 months (95% CI: 45.67-78.33) in patients with low PLR.

High NLR (>2.78) associates with poor prognosis in patients with MM, and it may be considered as an independent prognostic factor for MM patients.