# Pre‐Treatment Serum Prognostic Scores and Survival in Curatively Treated Laryngeal Cancer

## TL;DR

This study shows that blood-based immune markers can predict survival in laryngeal cancer patients and improve risk assessment when combined with traditional factors.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that combining immune-inflammation markers with clinicopathological variables enhances survival prediction in laryngeal cancer.

## Key findings

- Low LMR and high-risk scores were significantly linked to worse survival outcomes.
- Combining prognostic scores with clinicopathological variables improved survival prediction accuracy.
- Nodal status and disease stage remained strong independent predictors of survival.

## Abstract

Laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) is a common head and neck cancer subtype, primarily linked to smoking and alcohol use. Despite declining incidence, survival outcomes have not improved. Prognostic scores, derived from blood‐based markers like neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte‐to‐monocyte ratio (LMR), and systemic immune‐inflammation index (SIII), are increasingly recognized for their potential to predict survival outcomes and guide patient management.

A retrospective analysis of 473 LSCC patients diagnosed in the West of Scotland (2014–2020) assessed the association of prognostic scores with overall survival (OS), cancer‐specific survival (CSS), and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Patients were categorized into high‐ and low‐risk groups based on combined scores.

Low LMR and high‐risk scores were significantly associated with worse OS, CSS, and RFS. Nodal status and disease stage remained strong predictors. Combining clinicopathological variables with prognostic scores improved survival prediction.

Prognostic scores are valuable tools for survival prediction in LSCC and, when combined with clinicopathological factors, may guide patient management. Further validation is warranted.

This study evaluates the prognostic significance of systemic immune‐inflammatory markers in predicting survival outcomes for 473 patients with laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) treated curatively. Markers such as lymphocyte‐to‐monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were significant predictors of overall survival, cancer‐specific survival, and recurrence‐free survival, with low LMR consistently associated with poor prognosis. Combining these markers with clinicopathological variables enhances predictive accuracy, providing a robust tool for personalized risk stratification in LSCC management.