Prognostic value of lymphocyte-to-C-reactive-protein ratio in cancers

Abstract

Abstract Background Systemic inflammation and immune nutritional status affect tumor progression and patient survival. Lymphocyte-to-C-reactive-protein ratio(LCR) as inflammatory immune index has been reported to be associated with prognosis of various cancers. However, the results are controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the clinical value of LCR in cancers through a meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive search of relevant studies was performed by scrutinizing the databases until March 31, 2023. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results A total of 31 studies from 29 articles involving 11429 patients were included in the study. The pooled analysis showed that patients with high LCR was significantly associated with favorable OS (HR: 0.51,95% CI:0.48–0.55),DFS (HR: 0.55,95% CI:0.43–0.70),RFS (HR:0.57,95% CI:0.48–0.67),PFS (HR: 0.50,95% CI:0.27–0.92) and CSS (HR:0.53,95% CI:0.42–0.67).Sensitivity analysis confirmed the reliability of these results. Conclusions LCR can be used as an effective prognostic marker in cancers.