Abstract
Inflammation is one of the most important causes leading to colorectal carcinogenesis, and inflammatory biomarkers such as the platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) might predict survival in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the prognostic value of PLR in CRC patients remains controversial. The prognostic value of PLR was comprehensively analyzed in 12 articles including 3541 CRC patients (10 for overall survival (OS), seven for disease‐free survival (DFS), three for recurrence‐free survival (RFS), and three for cancer‐specific survival (CSS)) in this study. The overall pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of PLR for OS, DFS, and CSS were significant at 1.29 (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.13–1.47, PH = 0.149), 1.43 (95% CI = 1.03–1.97, PH = 0.025), and 1.26 (95% CI = 1.04–1.52, PH = 0.223), respectively. However, there was no evidence of significance for RFS (HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.98–1.70, PH = 0.231) in our study. Stratified analyses indicated elevated PLR was a predictor of poor OS (metastatic patients) and DFS (Caucasian population) and was also significantly associated with OS in univariate analysis (HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.14–1.60, PH = 0.532) and those only treated surgically (HR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.10–1.70, PH = 1.080). However, our findings indicated that elevated PLR is a promising prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer, especially in metastatic Caucasian CRC patients.
Highlights
Hong-Xin Peng1,2, Kang Lin2, Bang-Shun He2, Yu-Qin Pan2, Hou-Qun Ying1,2, Xiu-Xiu Hu1,2, Tao Xu2 and Shu-Kui Wang2
Our findings indicated that elevated platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a promising prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer, especially in metastatic Caucasian Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients
A meta-analysis containing 12 studies with 3541 patients was conducted to estimate the prognostic effect of PLR on CRC survival, and our study showed that elevated PLR significantly affected Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in overall and Caucasian populations
Summary
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [1]. Obvious improvements are developed and applied in diagnosis and treatment for CRC; due to the local tumor recurrence or metastasis, 5-year survival of the patients is still not promising. Cancer-related inflammation could aid malignant cell in the proliferation, infiltration, metastasis, regulating the innate and adaptive immune responses, and affecting the drug effect [3]. Abbreviations 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; CRC, colorectal cancer; CRM, cancer-related mortality; CRP, C-reactive protein; CSS, cancer-specific survival; DFS, disease-free survival; HR, hazard ratio; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; OS, overall survival; PFS, progression-free survival; PH, P-value of heterogeneity; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; RFS, recurrence-free survival; TTR, time to recurrence.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call