Prognostic factors and the prognostic role of inflammation indices in malignant pleural mesothelioma

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic factors of malignant pleural mesothelioma and the prognostic value of inflammation indices in malignant pleural mesothelioma. METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2019, a total of 132 patients (74 males, 58 females; mean age: 55 years; range, 31 to 79 years) diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma were retrospectively analyzed. Patients" demographic data and laboratory results were recorded. The prognostic value of the following five inflammation indices was evaluated: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, advanced lung cancer inflammation index, C-reactive protein/albumin ratio, and prognostic nutritional index. RESULTS: Of all patients, 81% (n=107) were aged 65 or older and 61.4% (n=81) had an epithelioid histology. Of 12 variables examined in the multivariate analysis for their relationship with survival, age ≥65 years, non-epithelioid subtype, and prognostic nutritional index <40 were found to be poor prognostic factors. Based on the score constructed from these factors, the good prognostic group (score 0-1) had a median overall survival of 21 months and a one-year survival rate of 77.9%, while the poor prognostic group (score 2-3) had a median overall survival of nine months and a one-year survival rate of 29.7%. CONCLUSION: Our study results indicate that age ≥65 years, prognostic nutritional index <40, and non-epithelioid histological subtype are poor prognostic factors of malignant pleural mesothelioma.