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Sarcopenia accompanied by systemic inflammation can predict clinical outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer
Ken Kasahara1,2, Takeyuki Kono1, Yoichiro Sato2
1Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Frontiers in Oncology
|March 29, 2024
Summary
Sarcopenia combined with low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is a strong predictor of poor survival in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients. This combination offers a more sensitive prognostic marker than sarcopenia alone for HNSCC outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Sarcopenia and systemic inflammation are known prognostic markers in various cancers.
- Their combined prognostic value in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the combined effect of sarcopenia and systemic inflammation on survival in HNSCC patients.
- To identify the most effective systemic inflammation markers for predicting prognosis in HNSCC when combined with sarcopenia.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 100 HNSCC patients treated between 2012 and 2016.
- Sarcopenia assessed via skeletal muscle area on CT scans.
- Systemic inflammation evaluated using neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR).
Main Results:
- 71 patients had sarcopenia, showing lower LMR and higher NLR/PLR.
- Sarcopenia was associated with worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).
- The combination of sarcopenia and LMR demonstrated the highest reliability for prognosis, with sarcopenia plus low LMR being a significant poor prognostic factor for OS and PFS.
Conclusions:
- The combination of sarcopenia and LMR is a highly sensitive prognostic factor in HNSCC.
- This combined marker can aid in identifying HNSCC patients at high risk of poor outcomes.
