Diagnostic and prognostic value of preoperative systemic inflammatory markers in anaplastic thyroid cancer

Background Easily accessible, generalized, and inexpensive methods are expected to differentiate anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) from advanced differentiated thyroid cancer (aDTC). We aimed to explore potential diagnostic and prognostic value of systematic inflammatory markers (SIMs) in ATC and aDTC. Methods About 22 ATC, 101 aDTC, and 100 matched early DTC patients were analyzed retrospectively. SIMs included the comprehensive index, neutrophil-monocyte-platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (NMPLR) and the previously reported ones. Receiver operating characteristic, Kaplan-Meier, and COX regression analyses were mainly conducted. Results NMPLR exhibited the highest area under the curve value 0.806 (P < .0001) to diagnose ATC from aDTC. NMPLR was identified as an independent risk factor for overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR]: 47.821, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.863-798.765,P = .007) in ATC, as well as for OS (HR: 7.360, 95% CI, 1.620-33.430,P = .010) and recurrence-free survival (HR: 4.172, 95% CI, 1.139-15.286,P = .031) in aDTC. Taken both refractory types (ATC and aDTC) together, NMPLR could independently predict OS (HR: 6.470; 95% CI, 2.134-19.616;P = .001). Conclusion NMPLR is a generalized index. It showed excellent potential in differential diagnosis and survival prediction in refractory thyroid cancer. However, it needs to be validated in larger cohort and clinical practice.