Background and Objectives: The HALP (Haemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte and Platelet) score is used to predict the prognosis of different types of cancer. This study aimed to investigate the role of the HALP score in predicting pathological response in early-stage gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 118 patients diagnosed with early-stage gastric cancer and subjected to perioperative (FLOT) treatment between 2018 and 2023. The role of the HALP score in predicting the pathological response to perioperative treatment in patients was investigated. Results: The mean age of the 118 patients included in the study was 61.3 ± 11.1 (min = 23; max = 86). In the ROC analysis, the optimum cut-off value for the HALP score in pathological response classification was found to be 28.9 (AUC = 0.710, sensitivity = 56.7%, specificity = 80%, PPV = 86.79%, NPV = 46.15%). The pathological response rate was 69% in all patients, 87% in patients with a HALP score ≥ 28.9, and 52% in patients with a HALP score < 28.9 (p < 0.001). The probability of pathological response is 6.5 times higher in patients with a HALP score ≥ 28.9. In the Fagan nomogram, when the HALP score was ≥28.9, our pathological response probability estimate (post-test response probability) was found to increase to 64.8% (Positive Likelihood Ratio = 3, Negative Likelihood Ratio = 0.53). In patients with HALP scores ≥ 28.9 and <28.9, progression rates were 16.7% and 47.8%, respectively (p < 0.001), and median survival times were 45.4 and 30.6 months (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The HALP score is a useful and easily accessible score for determining pathological responses in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer.

Patients with metastatic malignant melanoma have a survival rate of less than one year. Nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody against programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor, has improved survival in patients without BRAF mutations. The HALP score, calculated from hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet levels, provides information about a patient immune and nutritional status. High HALP scores have been associated with a better prognosis in various cancers. This study aimed to investigate the effect of high HALP scores on response to nivolumab treatment in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. A retrospective study was conducted on 44 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with nivolumab at Adana City Training and Research Hospital between 2014 and 2021. Patients who received dabrafenib-trametinib before nivolumab treatment were excluded. The HALP scores were calculated using laboratory parameters before the first nivolumab treatment. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0. The study included 22 female and 22 male patients with a mean age of 61.4 ± 15.6 years. Of the patients, 10 (27.2%) had a positive BRAF mutation, whereas 34 (77.3%) did not. The HALP score cutoff value was determined as 30.1. Patients with high HALP scores had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to those with low HALP scores (PFS: median 5.8 vs 3.1 months, P = .041; OS: median 54.9 vs 14.4 months, P = .005). In this study, we found that high HALP scores were significantly associated with longer PFS and OS in metastatic malignant melanoma patients receiving nivolumab treatment. HALP score was associated with both PFS and OS in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with nivolumab. This immuno-nutritional parameter may be useful in various cancers; however, further prospective studies with larger patient cohorts are needed for clinical application.

Background and Objective: This study evaluated the relationship between microsatellite status (MSI) and pan-immune-inflammation score (PIV) in tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with clinical stage III gastric cancer (cStage III GC). Materials and Methods: Microsatellite instability (MSI) status was evaluated based on pathology preparations. Pan-immune-inflammation score (PIV) was obtained from pre-treatment blood tests. The relationship of both parameters with pathological complete response (pCR) was evaluated. Results: A total of 104 patients were included in this study. All the patients were stage III GC patients receiving perioperative treatment. There were 13 patients in total who achieved a pCR response. While CNS was detected in 11 of the patients who achieved a pCR, the MSI status of the other two patients was unknown. No pCR was observed in any patient with MSI-H. According to the cut-off value for PIV, 25 (24%) patients were in the PIV-low (≤53.9) group, while 79 (76%) were in the PIV-high (>53.9) group. Based on univariate analysis, a higher PIV was associated with worse outcomes for pathological response, disease recurrence, and survival (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In patients with clinically stage III GC, the presence of MSI-H may predict no benefit from perioperative treatment. Conversely, a pre-treatment PIV score using specific cut-off values may provide a positive prediction of pathological response and survival.

The preferred approach for metastatic colon cancer is conventional chemotherapy and biological agents. Despite these treatments, most patients progress to the metastatic stage. Regorafenib inhibits various angiogenic receptor tyrosine kinases and intracellular signaling kinases. This study aimed to determine whether tumor location affects the response to regorafenib treatment in patients with colon cancer. This was a retrospective study, patients who were followed up and treated with a diagnosis of colon cancer in Adana City Training and Research Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2022 were reviewed. This study included 74 patients with adenocarcinoma, of whom 47 (63.5%) were male and 27 (36.5%) were female. Of these patients, 31 (41.9%) had left colon cancer, 10 (13.5%) had right colon cancer, and 33 (44.6%) had rectal cancer. Genetic analysis of 63 patients was available. KRAS wild-type and mutant tumors were detected in 31 (49.2%) and 32 (51.8%) patients, respectively. While NRAS wild-type was detected in all patients, no BRAF mutation was detected. According to KRAS mutation analysis, progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with KRAS wild-type and KRAS-mutant were 4.12 ± 0.4 and 3.84 ± 0.4 months (P = .711) and 22.1 ± 3.7 and 9.8 ± 1.5 months (P = .030), respectively. Unlike other studies in the literature, we found that the efficacy of regorafenib treatment in the right and left colon was not different. However, we found that this difference in efficacy was associated with the RAS mutation status rather than right–left colon localization. Treatment efficacy decreased in patients with RAS-mutant tumors. We believe that, rather than the right or left colon location, RAS wild-type or RAS-mutant status should be considered when selecting regorafenib treatment.