Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) as a Predictive Value of Hematological Markers in Cervical Cancer

Background: Inflammation represents a pivotal role in the progression of cervical cancer. The hematologicalmarkers of inflammation in complete blood count (CBC) panel are potentially useful in determining the prognosis ofthe disease. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate whether the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) could be used as in predicting the stage of cervical cancer. Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study involving 282 patients with cervical cancer was enrolled at Sanglah GeneralHospital for five years (2013-2017). The histopathological records and complete blood counts (CBC) of the patients werecollected and analyzed using SPSS ver. 16 software. FIGO stage I–II and III-IV were classified as early and advancestage respectively. Results: The median NLR and PLR were significantly higher in the advance stage compared withearly stage (7.58 (1.36-33.20) and 247.89 (97.10-707.11); p-value = 0.001). A strong positive correlation was foundbetween the staging of cervical cancer and NLR (r=0.638) and PLR (r=0.668). The AUC, sensitivity, and specificityvalue of NLR and PLR were 0.803 (82%; 71%) and 0.716 (72%; 70%). Advanced stage of cervical cancer was foundin high NLR (adjusted OR: 9.02; 95%CI=2.42-33.64; p=0.001) and PLR (adjusted OR = 2.47; 95% CI = 1.45-4.85;p = 0.032). Conclusion: Increased pretreatment NLR and PLR values may provide a useful information in predictingthe staging of cervical cancer.     

Blood fatty acid patterns are associated with prostate cancer risk in a prospective nested case–control study

Background

Circulating fatty acids are highly correlated with each other, and analyzing fatty acid patterns could better capture their interactions and their relation to prostate cancer. We aimed to assess the associations between data-derived blood fatty acid patterns and prostate cancer risk.

Methods

We conducted a nested case–control study in the Physicians’ Health Study. Fatty acids levels were measured in whole blood samples of 476 cases and their matched controls by age and smoking status. Fatty acid patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI).

Results

Two patterns explaining 40.9 % of total variation in blood fatty acid levels were identified. Pattern 1, which mainly reflects polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism, was suggestively positively related to prostate cancer risk (OR_{quintile 5 vs. quintile 1} = 1.37, 95 % CI = 0.91–2.05, P _trend = 0.07). Pattern 2, which largely reflects de novo lipogenesis, was significantly associated with higher prostate cancer risk (OR_{quintile5 vs. quintile1} = 1.63, 95 % CI = 1.04–2.55, P _trend = 0.02). This association was similar across tumor stage, grade, clinical aggressiveness categories and follow-up time.

Conclusion

The two patterns of fatty acids we identified were consistent with known interactions between fatty acid intake and metabolism. A pattern suggestive of higher activity in the de novo lipogenesis pathway was related to higher risk of prostate cancer.