Preoperative peripheral blood lymphocyte/monocyte ratio and survival in patients with resected stage IV melanoma

• Published in: Journal of clinical oncology Vol. 30; no. 15_suppl; p. 8600
• Main Authors: Rochet, Nicole M., Porrata, Luis F., Kottschade, Lisa A., Grotz, Travis Edward, Markovic, Svetomir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20.05.2012
• ISSN: 0732-183X; 1527-7755
• DOI: 10.1200/jco.2012.30.15_suppl.8600

Abstract only 8600 Background: The prognosis of stage IV melanoma patients remains poor. Published results have suggested that components of the complete blood count have significant prognostic value in several malignancies. Among the most studied were the absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), and absolute monocyte count (AMC) on clinical outcomes of patients with lymphoid malignancies. Thus, we sought to investigate if the pre-operative ALC (ALC-PO), AMC (AMC-PO) and ALC/AMC ratio (ALC/AMC-PO) affects the risk of disease recurrence and survival after complete surgical resection of metastatic melanoma. Methods: We studied 66 stage IV, resected melanoma patients followed at Mayo Clinic from 2000 to 2010. Log rank chi-square analysis was used to determine the best cut-off values for each pre-operative variable, while proportional hazards models were used to compared survival. Results: The median follow-up of the cohort was 24 months (range: 2.3 – 117 months). ALC-PO, AMC-PO and ALC/AMC-PO, as continuous variables, were all identified as prognostic factors for both relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). The best cut-off values for ALC-PO, AMC-PO and ALC/AMC-PO were 1.9; 0.62; and 2.05, respectively. Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with an ALC-PO ≥ 1.9 x 10 9 /L experienced superior OS and RFS compared with ALC-PO < 1.9 x 10 9 /L patients [median OS of 58 months vs. 34 months, p < 0.04; median RFS of 14 months vs. 5 months, p < 0.009]. Conversely, a low AMC-PO (<0.62 x 10 9 /L) was associated with better OS and RFS compared with higher AMC-PO (≥ 0.62 x 10 9 /L): [median OS of 47 months vs. 14 months, p < 0.007; median RFS of 9 months vs. 5 months, p < 0.02]. When the ALC-PO and AMC-PO were combined as an ALC/AMC ratio, the group with an ALC/AMC-PO ≥ 2.05 experienced a superior OS and RFS compared to patients with ALC/AMC-PO < 2.05: [median OS of 49 months vs. 12 months, p < 0.0001; median RFS of 10 months vs. 4 months, p < 0.0001]. Multivariate analysis showed ALC/AMC-PO to be an independent prognostic factor for RFS and OS (HR = 0.32, p < 0.003; HR = 0.23, p < 0.002). Conclusions: Our study showed, that ALC/AMC-PO ratio is an independent prognostic factor for RFS and OS in patients undergoing resection of metastatic (stage IV) melanoma.