Evaluation of the Cutoff Point and Diagnostic Value of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Predicting Ovarian Cancer Compared to Pathological Findings

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

1 Preventative Gynecology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Scienaces, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Paramedicine, Amol School of Paramedical sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preventative Gynecology Research Center, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: This research aims to establish a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) threshold and evaluate its diagnostic accuracy compared to pathological criteria for diagnosing Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at Imam Hossein Hospital involving 204 women aged 18 and older with confirmed ovarian mass based on pathology. We recorded clinical, pathological, and preoperative blood count data, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Patients were categorized into malignant and benign ovarian mass groups based on postoperative pathology. The power of NLR to diagnosis of EOC was evaluated using ROC curve. Results: At total, 204 patients (Benign 75.5% vs. Malignant 24.5%) were included in the analysis with mean age of 54.26 ±12.04 yrs in malignant and 46.31±13.21 in benign. In all cases, the proportion of patients with the following tumor markers HE4 (>140 Pm), CA 125 (> 35U/Ml) and CEA (>5 ng/Ml) were 52.45%, 41.67% and 3.43%, respectively, and proportion of abnormal tumor markers was statistically higher in malignant group compared to benign mass (p <0.05).  Odds of having higher NLR levels in the malignancy group was higher than benign group (e.g., OR of 4.45 for NLR in quartile 4 vs. quartile 1).  According to model selection criteria, the full model with including NLR level and age, BMI and tumor markers has best performance for diagnosis of malignancy (AUC =0.87). Conclusion: High NLR in combination with tumor markers including CA125, HE4 and CEA were associated with malignancy in patients with ovarian mass. More attention and further examinations should be devoted for patients with ovarian mass having high NLR and abnormal tumor markers levels to detect the probable malignancy as soon as possible.

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Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Volume 25, Issue 3
March 2024
Pages 971-976

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History

  • Receive Date: 24 October 2023
  • Revise Date: 02 February 2024
  • Accept Date: 29 February 2024

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