The Role of Serum Inflammation-Based Scores in Diagnosis and Assessing Remission in Cushing’s Disease

OBJECTIVES: Chronic hypercortisolism causes diverse alterations in the immune system and inflammatory disruptions. Serum inflammation-based scores (SIBS) are indicators of systemic inflammatory status. This study aims to determine the role of SIBS in the diagnosis and evaluation of remission in patients with Cushing’s disease (CD). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 195 participants; 52 patients diagnosed and followed up after treatment with CD, 65 patients with subclinical Cushing’s syndrome (SCS), and 78 healthy individuals whose complete blood counts (CBC) were obtained for analysis. Participants with additional diseases or drug use that could affect CBC were excluded from the study. SIBS of the three groups were compared. Scores considered were neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). The correlations between SIBS and initial diagnostic tests for hypercortisolism were analyzed. The SIBS of patients with CD at the diagnosis were compared with those after remission. In addition, receiver operator characteristic curve analyses were used to determine the diagnostic accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of the scores significantly high in the CD group. RESULTS: MLR and SII values were significantly higher in CD patients than in the healthy group (p<0.01). NLR and SII were significantly higher in patients with CD than those with SCS (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the SCS and the control groups in all SIBS. We determine significant, positive, and moderately correlated findings between SIBS and initial diagnostic tests for hypercortisolism in the CD group (0.30<r<0.70; p<0.05). All of the scores evaluated were significantly lower in the remission of the disease compared to the active period (p<0.001). An optimal cut-off MLR value of 0.20 showed the best diagnostic value (p=0.003; sensitivity, 78.4%; specificity, 51.4%), and an optimal cut-off SII value of 776.20 showed the best diagnostic value (p=0.017; sensitivity, 54.9%; specificity, 70.0%). CONCLUSION: The SIBS, which can be easily calculated with the data obtained from CBC and do not have additional costs, can contribute to the diagnosis and assessment of remission in patients with CD.