THE ROLE OF LYMPHOCYTE-MONOCYTE RATIO IN DETERMINING PREDICTING RECURRENCE AND PROGNOSIS IN LARYNGEAL CANCER

Abstract

Objective: Although inflammation plays a role in tumour rejection, it may also contribute to the progression of oncogenesis. Our goal\rwas to investigate the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and its effects on cancer prognosis in laryngeal cancer patients.\rMethods: Patients treated in our clinic between 2003 and 2014 for a diagnosis of laryngeal squamous cell cancer were analysed\rretrospectively. A total of 164 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into groups according to perivascular invasion status\r[PVI(+) and PVI(-)], thyroid cartilage invasion status [TCI(+) and TCI(-)], metastatic lymph node [LAP(+) and LAP(-)], perineural invasion\rstatus [PNI(+) and PNI(-)] and tumour stage (T1-T4). Differences of pretreatment LMR among the groups were evaluated. The relationships\rof LMR with survival time and recurrence were evaluated.\rResults: There was a statistically significant inverse correlation between T stage (T1-T4a), and LMR level (p=0.001). LMR was\rsignificantly lower in the TCI(+) (p=0.004), LAP(+) (p=0.004), and PVI(+) (p=0.006) groups. The mean LMR in the recurrence (+) group\rwas lower than in the recurrence (-) group for all stages, but a statistically significant difference was detected only in patients with early stage\rcancer (T1 and T2) (p=0.024 and 0.052, respectively). An increased recurrence rate was found in patients with an LMR?3.01\r(sensitivity:61.1%, specificity:60.9%). Among all of the prognostic factors, a low LMR was found to be the most important independent\rfactor determining cancer-related death.\rConclusions: A decreased LMR, particularly in the early stages of laryngeal cancer, is associated with high recurrence rates and a poor\rprognosis.