ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To measure the prognostic value of the lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: We retrospectively examined the LMR as a prognosticator in a cohort of 234 patients with EOC who underwent surgical resection. Patients were categorized into two different groups based on the LMR (LMR-low and LMR-high) using cut-off values determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The objective of the study was to assess the effect of the LMR on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and to validate the LMR as an independent predictor of survival. RESULTS: Using the data collected from the whole cohort, the optimized LMR cut-off value selected on the ROC curve was 2.07 for both PFS and OS. The LMR-low and LMR-high groups included 48 (20.5%) and 186 patients (79.5%), respectively. The 5-year PFS rates in the LMR-low and LMR-high groups were 40.0 and 62.5% (P < 0.0001), respectively, and the 5-year OS rates in these two groups were 42.2 and 67.2% (P < 0.0001), respectively. On multivariate analysis, we identified age, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, and cancer antigen 125 levels to be the strongest valuable prognostic factors affecting PFS (P = 0.0421, P = 0.0012, and P = 0.0313, respectively) and age, FIGO stage, and the LMR as the most valuable prognostic factors predicting OS (P = 0.0064, P = 0.0029, and P = 0.0293, respectively). Conclusion : The LMR is an independent prognostic factor affecting the survival of patients with EOC.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the long term effects of estrogen-progestogen therapy (EPT) on uterine myomas volume in postmenopausal women. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on postmenopausal women with asymptomatic uterine myoma during the period between April, 2008 and September, 2012. Postmenopause was defined as amenorrhea for longer than a year or serum follicle stimulating hormone levels higher than 40 IU/L. The volume of the myoma was assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography for every 6 months after administration of EPT. RESULTS: Thirty-eight women were included in the study, with 32 in the EPT group and 6 in the control group. Overall, uterine myoma volume (mean ± standard deviation, cm(3)) in the EPT group was 19.5 ± 24.6 at baseline, and those at 6 and 12 months were 24.7 ± 35.1 and 28.5 ± 56.4, respectively. Myoma volume did not change significantly with EPT, and these changes were not significantly different from the control group. Myoma volume changes were not significantly different in the subgroups according to the route of estrogen administrations and the method of progestogen administrations. Clinically significant volume increases during one year of EPT was noted in 28.1% (9/32), however, only one showed transient increases. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that treating postmenopausal woman with EPT on a long-term basis does not increase the volume of uterine myomas.
