Cancers (Apr 2020)

The Glasgow Prognostic Score at Diagnosis Is a Predictor of Clinical Outcome in Patients with Multiple Myeloma Undergoing Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

  • Hanno M. Witte,
  • Bastian Bonorden,
  • Armin Riecke,
  • Harald Biersack,
  • Konrad Steinestel,
  • Hartmut Merz,
  • Alfred C. Feller,
  • Veronica Bernard,
  • Sebastian Fetscher,
  • Nikolas von Bubnoff,
  • Niklas Gebauer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12040921
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 4
p. 921

Abstract

Read online

Background: Immunity and inflammatory response affect the tumour microenvironment and the progression of malignancies. Metabolic and inflammatory parameters and ratios of the peripheral blood correlate with outcome in cancer patients. There exist several established and validated inflammation-based scores of prognostic significances including the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS). Methods: In this retrospective, multicentre study, we investigated the prognostic capabilities of baseline GPS in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation as a complementary resource for risk stratification. For GPS calculation, a C-reactive-protein (CRP) value of >10 mg/dL counts as one point and an albumin value of Results: Following initial assessment, we identified 224 fully evaluable patients who underwent autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma. A centralised review of pathology and cytogenetic reports was conducted, and a central hematopathology assessment was performed in 175 of 224 cases (78.1%). Proceeding to high-dose chemotherapy and subsequent autologous stem cell transplantation was the main inclusion criterion for all transplant-eligible patients in the study. The median age at diagnosis was 59 years (range: 35–76 years) with a median follow-up of 76 months. Multivariate analysis revealed neutrophil–platelet score (NPS) (HR = 0.528, 95% CI = 0.284–0.984) and B symptoms at primary diagnosis (HR = 1.838, 95% CI = 1.232–2.740) to be independent predictors of PFS while high-risk cytogenetic changes (HR = 2.358, 95% CI = 1.413–3.934, p = 0.001) could be identified as an independent predictor of OS, and GPS to be the only independent predictor of both OS and PFS (OS: HR = 2.127, 95% CI = 1.431–3.162, p p = 0.019). Conclusions: Our data show that baseline GPS correlates with rates of relapse and refractory disease in MM patients undergoing autologous transplantation. In a multivariate analysis, these effects were proven to hold prognostic capabilities beyond and independent from established prognosticators. These results require further validation in a prospective setting.

Keywords