AUTHOR=Wang Chen , Liu Shengyan , Li Xin , Cui Kang , Zhang Weijie , Du Yabing 

TITLE=Baseline neutrophil-to- ratio combined with the change during treatment provides risk stratification for metastatic malignant melanoma patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors in a Chinese population

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1118301

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2023.1118301

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Previous studies have suggested that an elevated baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (BLNLR) and elevated relative change of NLR (ΔNLR%) is associated with worse outcomes in patients with a variety of cancers. This study aims to investigate the value of BLNLR and ΔNLR% before the third cycle of treatment on the prognosis of patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with PD-1 inhibitors.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 63 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with PD-1 inhibitors in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. BLNLR and ΔNLR% before the third cycle of treatment were collected. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between BLNLR, ΔNLR% and clinical characteristics with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Univariate analysis showed that PFS and OS were associated with BLNLR, ΔNLR%, BMI and number of metastatic organs (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that BLNLR, ΔNLR%, BMI and number of metastatic organs were independent predictors of OS and BLNLR and ΔNLR% were independent predictors of PFS. Patients were divided into four groups according to BLNLR (&lt;3, ≥3) and ΔNLR% (&lt; 30%, ≥30%): low-BLNLR + low-ΔNLR% group, low-BLNLR + high-ΔNLR% group, high-BLNLR + low-ΔNLR% group, high-BLNLR + high-ΔNLR% group. The median OS was 20 months, 8 months, 9 months, 5 months and the median PFS was 8 months, 3 months, 2 months, 2 months, respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>BLNLR combined with ΔNLR% can be used to predict the prognosis of PD-1 inhibitors in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma.</p></sec>