Low Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio Linked to Better Survival in Some Melanoma Cases
Source: Dermatology Advisor, November 2024
Baseline neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a significant predictor of disease progression and overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic melanoma undergoing programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) blockade therapy, according to study results published in Melanoma Research.
Researchers conducted a systematic review on April 20, 2024, to analyze the predictive value of the baseline NLR regarding disease progression and OS in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Data were sourced from 3 databases, and studies were included if they involved adults with stage IV melanoma receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The study’s primary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and OS. Quality assessment was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and statistical analyses utilized random-effect models to account for study heterogeneity.
The initial search identified 432 records, which was narrowed down after removing duplicates and applying eligibility criteria resulting in 35 studies for full-text review, of which 20 met all criteria and were included in the final analysis. These studies covered 2691 patients, of which 65% were men, with median age ranging from 55 to 72 years. Across the studies, median OS spanned from 5.0 to 44.4 months, and median PFS ranged from 1.8 to 15.0 months. Each study used varying NLR cutoff values, from 2.1 to 5, resulting in distinct low and high NLR group definitions.