The combination of serum NLR and D-dimer levels at diagnosis predicts overall survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Background Many studies have confirmed that the systemic inflammatory response and hypercoagulable state of the patient are related to the occurrence and development of various tumors, including pancreatic cancer. The aim of this research was to combine blood inflammatory factors and D-dimer into a new prognostic scoring system.Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 73 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer between January 2015 and December 2018 at our institution. To identify the prognostic predictors, circulating inflammatory cells and D-dimer were analyzed.Results Univariate analysis showed that the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), CA19-9, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) score and D-dimer levels were significantly associated with overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Multivariate analysis suggested that only the NLR (p<0.026) and D-dimer level (p<0.012) were independent prognostic predictors. Then, we combined the NLR and D-dimer level to divide the cohort into three “NLRD” groups: “NLRD0”=NLR≤3.38 and D-dimer≤1.47, “NLRD1”=either NLR>3.38 or D-dimer>1.47, “NLRD2”=NLR>3.38 and D-dimer>1.47. Finally, we found that the NLRD2 group had the worst survival, with a median overall survival (OS) of 2 months (95%CI=1.450-2.550), while the NLRD0 group had the best outcome, with a median OS of 7 months (95%CI=5.897-8.121).Conclusions The scoring system combining the blood NLR with D-dimer levels provides important prognostic information for risk stratification in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and may help us identify patients who have a poor prognosis so that clinicians can develop personalized treatment strategies for these patients.