This study looked at inflammatory biomarkers in the blood for the diagnosis of non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).  Inflammation is known to be associated with cancer, and there have been a number of studies that have looked at the relationship between cancer and inflammatory biomarkers. Inflammatory biomarkers such as the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte/monocyte ratio, and red blood cell distribution width have all been shown to be associated with clear cell RCC.

This study, published in Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, looked at the link between these inflammatory biomarkers and survival outcomes of 687 patients with non-metastatic clear cell RCC who had had a nephrectomy. Patients were followed for 76.3 months. The results showed that only platelet/lymphocyte ratio was a robust biomarker for both cancer-specific survival and overall survival.

In summary, this analysis has shown that platelet/lymphocyte ratio is a robust biomarker for survival in patients with non-metastatic clear cell RCC who had had a nephrectomy. Clinicians might be better able to predict the survival outcomes of non-metastatic clear cell RCC using platelet/lymphocyte ratio and should consider the inclusion of platelet/lymphocyte ratio in the prognosis of RCC in the future.

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