Differential analysis of inflammatory markers in benign and malignant bone tumor patients based on a large cohort of cases

Abstract

Abstract Objective To explore the relationship between inflammatory markers and the benign-malignant nature as well as tumor staging of primary bone tumors using a comprehensive analysis of a substantial cohort of cases. Methods Clinical data of patients with primary bone tumors in the limbs were collected. Subsequently, patients were classified into two distinct groups: benign bone tumors group and primary malignant bone tumors group. Various inflammatory markers including neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and platelet count were recorded from preoperative complete blood cell counts. Additionally, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated. The potential differences in these aforementioned inflammatory markers between the two groups were compared and analyzed. Furthermore, based on the Enneking tumor staging, patients from the two group were reassigned into subgroups, respectively, and these inflammatory markers among patients at different tumor stages were compared and analyzed. Results A total of 315 patients with benign bone tumors and 256 patients with primary malignant bone tumors were included in this study. In terms of inflammatory markers, the mean neutrophil count, the mean platelet count, the mean NLR value and the mean PLR value were 3.45 ± 1.13, 213.56 ± 58.19, 1.92 ± 0.79 and 118.86 ± 42.43 in the benign bone tumor group and 4.14 ± 1.65, 235.32 ± 74.45, 2.48 ± 1.74 and 136.77 ± 67.91 in the malignant bone tumor group (P < 0.05). In the benign group, there were 110 patients in Enneking stage 1 and 33 patients in stage 3. The mean neutrophil count and the mean lymphocyte count were 3.12 ± 0.97, 1.85 ± 0.54 in stage 1 and 3.86 ± 1.25, 2.11 ± 0.63 in stage 3 (P < 0.05). While in the malignant group, there were 38 patients in Enneking stage I and 31 patients in stage III. The mean neutrophil count, the mean NLR value and the mean PLR were 3.61 ± 1.06, 1.93 ± 0.82, 118.80 ± 43.39 in stage I and 4.77 ± 2.18, 3.17 ± 2.76, 149.15 ± 70.24 in stage III (P < 0.05). Conclusion This study provides clinical evidence supporting the close relationship between inflammation and the pathogenesis of primary bone tumors. It reveals that patients with primary malignant bone tumors exhibit significantly elevated levels of inflammatory markers, compared to those with benign bone tumors.