Adjuvant chemotherapy for lymph node positive esophageal squamous cell cancer: The prediction role of low mean platelet volume

Xiaoling Liu; Kaijiong Zhang; Jie Tang; Li Jiang; Yu Jiang; Qifeng Wang

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.1067682

Adjuvant chemotherapy for lymph node positive esophageal squamous cell cancer: The prediction role of low mean platelet volume

Front Oncol. 2022 Dec 6:12:1067682. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1067682. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiaoling Liu^{1

2}, Kaijiong Zhang³, Jie Tang¹, Li Jiang⁴, Yu Jiang¹, Qifeng Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
² Department of Medical Oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
³ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Radiation Oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to examine whether MPV is a useful prognostic marker and investigated whether MPV is a risk factor that helps identify patients with locally advanced-stage ESCC who will most likely benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Patients (n =1690) with histologically confirmed ESCC were diagnosed with locally advanced stage (pT3-4N0M0 and pT1-4N+M0) at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from 2009 to 2017. Clinicopathological factors and platelet-related values were tested for their associations with survival using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The optimal cut-off value for continuous variables was determined using the 'maxstat' R package. The KM curve continuous variable analysis was performed to identify the optimal cut-off value for MPV. Cumulative survival rates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and compared using the log-rank test. The survival analysis was performed using the 'survival' R package. All statistical analyses were performed using R software 4.1.3 (https://www.r-project.org/), and a two-sided p-value <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.

Results: Multivariate analysis indicated that low MPV was an important risk factor for overall survival in locally advanced ESCC, independent of classic clinicopathological factors. The optimal cut-off value of MPV (11.8 fL) was used to stratify high-risk patients. Patients with low mean platelet volumes had a worse prognosis than those with larger platelet volumes, according to Kaplan-Meier analysis and the log-rank test. Patients diagnosed with a pathological lymph node-positive stage with a low MPV (≤11.8 fL) benefited from postoperative chemotherapy, but not those with a high-level MPV (>11.8 fL).

Conclusion: MPV served as an independent predictor of prognosis of locally advanced-stage ESCC and predicted a survival benefit conferred by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in lymph node-positive ESCC.

Keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy; esophageal squamous cell cancer; lymph node positive; mean platelet volume; prognosis.