Inflammatory Burden Index Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Esophageal Cancer Patients Who Receive Curative Treatment.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biomarkers
• Inflammation research

Background:

• Esophageal cancer (EC) poses a significant global health challenge.
• Identifying reliable prognostic biomarkers is crucial for effective EC treatment and management.
• The inflammatory burden index (IBI) has emerged as a potential indicator of systemic inflammation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prognostic impact of the inflammatory burden index (IBI) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) who have undergone curative treatment.
• To evaluate IBI as a potential biomarker for predicting overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in EC patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of medical records from 180 EC patients who received curative resection between 2005 and 2020.
• Calculation of the IBI score using the formula: C-reactive protein level × neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.
• Multivariate analysis to assess the significance of IBI as a prognostic factor for OS and RFS.

Main Results:

• Patients with high IBI scores exhibited significantly lower 3- and 5-year OS rates (38.2% and 32.5%) compared to those with low IBI scores (72.9% and 63.4%; p<0.001).
• IBI was a significant independent prognostic factor for OS (HR=2.372) and RFS (HR=2.484; p<0.001).
• High IBI was associated with increased rates of lymph node recurrence (46.0% vs. 26.2%) and hematological recurrence (52.0% vs. 18.5%) compared to low IBI.

Conclusions:

• The inflammatory burden index (IBI) significantly influences both short-term and long-term oncological outcomes in esophageal cancer patients.
• IBI demonstrates potential as a valuable prognostic biomarker for guiding the treatment and management strategies in EC.
• Further prospective studies are warranted to validate the role of IBI in clinical practice for EC.