Comparison of Selected Immune and Hematological Parameters and Their Impact on Survival in Patients with HPV-Related and HPV-Unrelated Oropharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

Several immune and hematological parameters are associated with survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). The aim of the study was to analyze selected immune and hematological parameters of patients with HPV-related (HPV+) and HPV-unrelated (HPV−) OPC, before and after radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy (RT/CRT) and to assess the impact of these parameters on survival. One hundred twenty seven patients with HPV+ and HPV− OPC, treated with RT alone or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT), were included. Patients were divided according to HPV status. Confirmation of HPV etiology was obtained from FFPE (Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded) tissue samples and/or extracellular circulating HPV DNA was determined. The pre-treatment and post-treatment laboratory blood parameters were compared in both groups. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and systemic immune inflammation (SII) index were calculated. The impact of these parameters on overall (OS) and disease-free (DFS) survival was analyzed. In HPV+ patients, a high pre-treatment white blood cells (WBC) count (>8.33 /mm3), NLR (>2.13), SII (>448.60) significantly correlated with reduced OS, whereas high NLR (>2.29), SII (>462.58) significantly correlated with reduced DFS. A higher pre-treatment NLR and SII were significant poor prognostic factors for both OS and DFS in the HPV+ group. These associations were not apparent in HPV− patients. There are different pre-treatment and post-treatment immune and hematological prognostic factors for OS and DFS in HPV+ and HPV− patients. The immune ratios could be considered valuable biomarkers for risk stratification and differentiation for HPV− and HPV+ OPC patients.