Objectives: Although the prognostic value of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) has been recently demonstrated in solid tumors, little is known of its impact on advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). This study evaluates and validates the cutoff value of LMR for predicting palliative chemotherapy outcome using a transnational cohort of APC patients.
Methods: A total of 405 APC patients receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 153 patients were from Shanghai General Hospital (training set) and 252 patients were from Kyoto University Hospital (validation set). The optimal cutoff value of LMR was determined by a generating receiver operating characteristic curve for the training set. The association between LMR and survival was evaluated using log-rank tests, and a Cox regression model was used to validate the independent prognostic significance of LMR in APC patients.
Results: The optimal cutoff value of LMR was 2.8. Overall survival was significantly longer in patients with LMR of 2.8 or greater than those with LMR of less than 2.8 (P < 0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that LMR was an independent prognostic factor. The impact of LMR was widely observed in all subgroups except the performance status 2 subgroup.
Conclusions: Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio may be considered as a promising prognostic marker for APC patients receiving palliative chemotherapy.