title: Predicting survival for multiple myeloma patients using baseline neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio.
abstract: The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at diagnosis has been shown to be a prognostic factor for survival in solid tumors. The NLR at diagnosis as a prognostic factor for multiple myeloma (MM) has not been studied. Therefore, the focus of the study was the correlation of NLR with the proven prognostic parameters in patients with MM. A total of 151 MM patients who fulfilled the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria were enrolled in the study by a retrospective review of the patients' records. One hundred fifty-one age- and gender-matched healthy controls were also included in the study. NLR was calculated using data obtained from the complete blood count (CBC). NLR was significantly higher in MM patients than the control group (2.79 ± 1.82 vs. 1.9 ± 0.61, respectively; p < 0.0001). The median follow-up on living patients in this study was 41 months. NLR at the diagnosis was found to be an independent predictor for overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) by univariate and multivariate analysis. Patients with a NLR <2 at diagnosis experienced superior OS compared with patients with a NLR ≥2 (5-year OS rates were 87.5 and 42.4 %, respectively; p < 0.0001). In a similar fashion, superior EFS was observed in patients with a NLR <2 at the diagnosis compared with patients with a NLR ≥2 (5-year EFS rates were 88.4 and 41.8 %, respectively, p < 0.0001). This study suggests that NLR at the diagnosis is a simple, inexpensive, possible prognostic factor to assess clinical outcomes in MM patients.
authors: Department of Hematology, Erzurum Region Training and Research Hospital, Bölge Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, 25770, Erzurum, Turkey, ekelkitli@gmail.com.
authors: Engin
authors: E
authors: Kelkitli
authors: Hilmi
authors: H
authors: Atay
authors: Fatih
authors: F
authors: Cilingir
authors: Nil
authors: N
authors: Güler
authors: Yüksel
authors: Y
authors: Terzi
authors: Düzgün
authors: D
authors: Ozatlı
authors: Mehmet
authors: M
authors: Turgut
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis