KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the prognostic cut-off values for nMLN and LNR in FIGO 2018 patients with stage IIICp CC.
- Researchers noticed that nMLN > 3 and LNR > 0.11 were significant predictors of poor prognosis in patients with CC.
Yanna Ye and the team aimed to identify the cut-off values for the number of metastatic lymph nodes (nMLN) and lymph node ratio (LNR) that can predict outcomes in patients with FIGO 2018 IIICp cervical cancer (CC).
They performed an inclusive analysis of patients with CC who underwent radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy, identifying them for a propensity score-matched (PSM) cohort study. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to determine the critical values for the nMLN and LNR. Overall survival (OS) of 5-year and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were compared using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to evaluate the prognostic significance of these metrics.
About 3,135 patients with CC with FIGO 2018 stage IIICp from 47 hospitals between 2004 and 2018 were included in the study. Based on ROC curve analysis, the cut-off values for the nMLN and LNR were determined to be 3.5 and 0.11, respectively. The final cohort comprised groups with nMLN ≤ 3 (n = 2,378) and nMLN > 3 (n = 757), as well as LNR ≤ 0.11 (n = 1,748) and LNR > 0.11 (n = 1,387).
Significant differences in survival rates were observed between the nMLN ≤ 3 versus nMLN > 3 groups (post-PSM, OS: 76.8% vs 67.9%, P = 0.003; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.411, 95% CI: 1.108-1.798, P = 0.005; DFS: 65.5% vs 55.3%, P < 0.001; HR: 1.428, 95% CI: 1.175-1.735, P < 0.001) and between the LNR ≤ 0.11 vs LNR > 0.11 groups (post-PSM, OS: 82.5% vs 76.9%, P = 0.010; HR: 1.407, 95% CI: 1.103-1.794, P = 0.006; DFS: 72.8% vs 65.1%, P = 0.002; HR: 1.347, 95% CI: 1.110-1.633, P = 0.002).
The study concluded that nMLN > 3 and LNR > 0.11 were associated with poor prognosis in patients with CC, highlighting these metrics as significant indicators of unfavorable outcomes.
This study was funded by the National Science and Technology Support Program of China, National Natural Science Fund of Guangdong, Dongguan Sci-tech Commissioner Program, Guangdong Higher Vocational Education Teaching Reform Research and Practice Project, Teaching and Learning Reform Programs Established by the Cantonese Continuing Education and Vocational Training Council, Education and Teaching Reform Subjects for 2022 of Guangdong Higher Vocational Colleges and Universities Teaching Steering Committee for Medicine and Health Professions, and Science and Technology Plan of Guangzhou.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39138415/
Ye Y, Lian R, Li Z, et al. (2024). “Predictive value of number of metastatic lymph nodes and lymph node ratio for prognosis of patients with FIGO 2018 stage IIICp cervical cancer:” a multi-center retrospective study. BMC Cancer. 2024 Aug 13;24(1):1005. doi: 10.1186/s12885-024-12784-8. PMID: 39138415.
