The pretreatment platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts clinical outcomes in patients with cervical cancer: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has been reported to possess significant prognostic value in multiple types of cancer. However, its prognostic value in patients with cervical remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment PLR in cervical cancer. METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases to identify studies evaluating the prognostic significance of the pretreatment PLR in patients with cervical cancer. The end points were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and clinicopathological parameters. All statistical analyses were conducted with Stata 13.0. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies comprising 3668 patients with cervical cancer were included. Elevated PLR was significantly correlated with poor OS [hazard ratio (HR): 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32–1.85, P < .001] and DFS/PFS (HR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.26–1.94; P < .001). In addition, elevated PLR was highly correlated with lymphovascular space invasion (+), lymph node metastasis (+), tumor size (>4 cm), grade (G3). CONCLUSION: The pretreatment PLR could serve as a predicative biomarker of poor prognosis for patients with cervical cancer.