Innate inflammatory markers for predicting survival in retroperitoneal sarcoma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) lack accurate preoperative prognostic tools.
• Existing tools rely on postoperative data.
• Need for easily accessible preoperative prognostic markers in RPS.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a preoperative prognostic marker for primary RPS.
• Assess the association between NLR and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels with patient outcomes.
• Determine the utility of serum biomarkers for RPS prognosis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 78 primary RPS patients operated between 2008 and 2018.
• Calculation of preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).
• Classification of patients into NLR-high (≥2.1) and NLR-low groups.

Main Results:

• High-grade tumors were more frequent in the NLR-high group (71.6% vs. 48%, P=.02).
• NLR-high patients exhibited significantly impaired overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (P=.03 for OS, P=.06 for PFS).
• Low C-reactive protein (CRP) levels correlated with improved OS and PFS.

Conclusions:

• Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) shows potential as a preoperative prognostic marker for RPS.
• Serum biomarkers like NLR and CRP may aid in managing these complex tumors.
• Easily derived preoperative markers can improve prognostic accuracy for retroperitoneal sarcomas.