A study of pre- and post-treatment hematologic markers of immune response in patients undergoing radiotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma.

INTRODUCTION

This study investigates the impact of pre- and post-treatment hematologic markers, specifically neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), on treatment outcomes in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT).

METHODS

Data from 64 patients who underwent RT for curative management of STS were reviewed. Pre-RT and post-RT hematologic measures were evaluated for associations with survival outcomes. A normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) curve for predicting ΔPLR ≥ 75 was modeled using a probit function.

RESULTS

Elevated baseline NLR was associated with worse overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), while elevated PLR was associated with worse DFS. Post-RT, elevated PLR was linked to worse OS and DFS. Increasing PLR change post-RT was associated with worse OS and DFS. Receiver operating characteristics analysis determined ΔPLR ≥ 75 to be a robust cutoff associated with worse DFS. Bone V10Gy ≥362 cc corresponded to a 50% risk of developing ΔPLR ≥ 75.

DISCUSSION

These results suggest that hematologic markers could serve as prognostic biomarkers in both pre- and post-treatment settings for STS patients undergoing RT. Future studies can consider using bone V10Gy < 362 cc as a potential cutoff to reduce the risk of increased PLR after RT.