Lymphocyte predominance in blood, pleural fluid, and tumour stroma; a prognostic marker in pleural mesothelioma

BACKGROUND: As promising novel treatments develop for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), early prognostication has become increasingly important. Circulating and local inflammatory cells are known to play a significant role in other tumour types. We assessed the proportion of lymphocyte populations within blood, pleural fluid and tumour stroma to prognosticate patients with MPM at diagnosis.

METHODS: Consecutive patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven MPM were prospectively recruited to an observational cohort study and followed up for a minimum of 7.5 years. Blood and pleural fluid results at presentation were extracted from the medical records. Biopsy specimens were independently reviewed by 2 pathologists who scored the degree of lymphocytic and neutrophilic infiltration.

RESULTS: Baseline results were available for 184 patients. The predominant pleural fluid cell type was calculable for 84 patients and 118 patients had biopsy specimens available for review. A low blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR < 4) inferred a better prognosis with a median survival of 420 days versus 301 days (p < 0.01). Survival was better for patients with a lymphocyte-predominant pleural effusion (430 vs 306 days, p < 0.01). Lymphocyte infiltration of tumour stroma was also associated with improved survival (n = 92, survival 430 days) compared with neutrophilic or acellular samples (n = 26, survival 342 days p < 0.01). In multivariable modelling lymphocyte predominance in blood, pleural fluid and tumour stroma were all associated with a better prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Lymphocyte predominance within tumour stroma, pleural fluid or blood infers a better prognosis in patients with MPM.