Our study indicated that a high lymphocyte to monocyte ratio might be a useful marker for colorectal cancer prognosis. As most of these findings were from retrospective studies, further studies are needed to verify the significance of the lymphocyte to monocyte ratio in clinical practice.

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common complication of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has been shown to be efficient in suppressing the accumulation of pleural fluid. However, whether intrapleural delivery of bevacizumab can be used to treat MPE remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined intrapleural therapy with bevacizumab and cisplatin, an antineoplastic agent, in controlling MPE. A total of 72 NSCLC study subjects with MPE were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group received intrapleural bevacizumab (300 mg) with cisplatin (30 mg) therapy and the second group received intrapleural cisplatin (30 mg) therapy alone. Pleural fluid was collected from both groups prior to and following treatment. The levels of VEGF and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the pleural fluid were determined by ELISA. In 70 evaluable study subjects, the curative efficacy in the bevacizumab group was significantly higher than that found in the cisplatin group (83.33 vs. 50.00%, respectively; p<0.05). Therapy with combined bevacizumab plus cisplatin significantly reduced VEGF levels in the pleural fluid (p<0.01). In the bevacizumab group, the levels of VEGF in the pleural fluid were significantly lower compared to those of the cisplatin group after treatment, which showed greater efficacy (p<0.01). In addition, combination therapy showed greater efficacy in the patients with high levels of VEGF expression (p<0.01). There was no significant difference in grade III/IV adverse events between the two groups. All procedures were well tolerated by the patients. Combined intrapleural therapy with bevacizumab and cisplatin was effective and safe in managing NSCLC-mediated MPE. We propose that VEGF expression levels in MPE could serve as a prognostic marker for bevacizumab therapy.

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Many studies have been reported that platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) may be associated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the results are inconsistent. Current opinion on the prognostic role of the PLR in CRC is inconsistent and inconclusive. Therefore, we conduct a meta-analysis that combines these studies and to identify the prognostic value of PLR in patients with CRC. Data were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases that came from inception through January 2016. We extracted data from the characteristics of each study and analyzed the relationship between PLR and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), or other prognosis in patients with CRC by using the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Of the 256 identified studies, 15 studies were included and a total of 3991 patients were included. In a meta-analysis, patients with an elevated PLR had a significantly lower OS (pooled HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.24–1.89; P ≤ 0.001), DFS (pooled HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.07–2.62; P = 0.023). Even after sensitivity analyses and trim and fill method, high PLR remains significantly predictive poorer OS, but not DFS. In addition, our meta-analysis indicated that increased PLR is also significantly associated with the poor tumor differentiation [odds ratio (OR) 2.12; 95% CI, 1.45–3.08, P < 0.001)], the propensity toward depth of infiltration (OR 1.69; 95% CI, 1.20–2.39, P = 0.003), and recurrence in patients with CRC (HR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.31–5.60, P = 0.005). This meta-analysis suggested that a high peripheral blood PLR can be used as a predictor of OS connected with clinicopathological parameters in patients with CRC, not DFS. These ratios may thus contribute to inform more personalized treatment decisions and predict treatment outcomes.

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