Aim: To investigate and validate predictive value of combination of pretreatment monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer after transurethral resection. Materials & methods: Total 358 patients enrolled were assigned into three (MLR-NLR 0, 1 and 2) groups per the cut-off values of MLR and NLR. Results: Kaplan-Meier curves showed MLR, NLR and their combination were statistically associated with DFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses revealed that combination of MLR with NLR was an independent prognostic predictor for both DFS (HR: 3.080; 95% CI: 1.870-5.074; p < 0.001 for MLR-NLR 2 vs MLR-NLR 0) and OS (HR: 2.815; 95% CI: 1.778-4.456; p < 0.001 for MLR-NLR 2 vs MLR-NLR 0). Calibration plots and decision curve analysis exhibited combination of MLR and NLR had good calibration accuracy with potential clinical usefulness. Conclusion: Combined MLR and NLR is a prognostic predictive biomarker in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer after transurethral resection.
Keywords: disease free survival; monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer; overall survival.