Effect of dynamic platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving chemoradiotherapy

Abstract

Systemic inflammatory load affects the long-term developmental outcomes in patients with malignancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the dynamic levels of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) at different treatment stages on the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) undergoing chemoradiotherapy. This study included 168 patients who received chemoradiotherapy between 2012 and 2018. PLR levels at different treatment stages were calculated based on blood test results. The association between PLR and overall survival (OS) was determined using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional regression models. The cutoff values of PLR before and after treatment of 168 patients with ESCC were 195.7 and 403.6, respectively. The 5-year OS rates of patients in the low and high pre-PLR groups were 42.1% and 21.7%, respectively. The overall 5-year OS rate of all patients was 27.1%. Multivariate analysis results showed that patient age (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.736; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.129–2.669; P = .012), alcohol consumption (HR = 1.622; 95%CI = 1.050–2.508; P = .029), T stage (HR = 12.483; 95%CI = 3.719–41.896; P < .001), pre-PLR (HR = 1.716; 95%CI = 1.069–2.756; P = .025), post-PLR (HR = 1.664; 95%CI = 1.106–2.503; P = .015) were independent factors of the prognosis of patients with ESCC. PLR at different treatment stages can be used to effectively evaluate the prognosis of patients with ESCC undergoing chemoradiotherapy.