Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictive value of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio index (FARI), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on the prognosis of patients with operable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Methods
A cohort of 155 operable HNSCC patients were enrolled. Laboratory and clinical data were extracted from the patients’ electronic medical record. The optimal cut-off values were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis. Clinicopathological characteristics of patients were compared via Chi-square test. Survival curves were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. The prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses via the Cox hazards regression analysis.
Results
The median follow-up time was 31.7 months. An increased level of NLR was associated with later T stages, later N stages, and more advanced clinical stages(all P < 0.05). On univariate analyses, FARI, NLR, PLR, and N stage were correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) (all P < 0.05) as well as overall survival (OS) (all P < 0.05). And the clinical stage was only relevant to OS (P = 0.007). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that FARI (HR 3.486, 95% CI 2.086–5.825, P < 0.001; HR 4.474, 95% CI 2.442–8.199, P < 0.001), NLR (HR 3.163, 95% CI 1.810–5.528, P < 0.001; HR 3.690, 95% CI 1.955–6.963, P < 0.001), and N stage (HR 1.718, 95% CI 1.058–2.789, P = 0.029; HR 1.777, 95% CI 1.024–3.084, P = 0.041) were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that FARI and NLR are effective and convenient markers for predicting prognosis in operable HNSCC patients.
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Wang, S., Feng, Y., Xie, Y. et al. High fibrinogen-albumin ratio index (FARI) predicts poor survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with surgical resection. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 279, 4541–4548 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07391-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07391-x