Background and Objectives: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Identifying reliable prognostic factors is crucial for risk stratification and optimizing treatment strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of clinicopathologic factors and systemic inflammatory markers on survival outcomes in patients with MPM. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, multicenter study included 217 patients diagnosed with MPM between January 2009 and March 2024. Data on age, gender, histology, disease stage, treatment modalities, and inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) were collected. Survival outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier methods, and prognostic factors were evaluated using Cox regression analysis. Results: CAR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Patients with CAR < 0.98 had significantly longer OS (87.0 months vs. 14.0 months, p < 0.001) and PFS (17.61 months vs. 8.96 months, p = 0.010). While NLR was significant in univariate analysis (OS: 25.0 months for NLR < 2.58 vs. 21.0 months for NLR ≥ 2.58, p = 0.040), it did not retain significance in the multivariate model (p = 0.180). Epithelioid histology and early-stage disease were strongly associated with improved survival outcomes (OS: 32.0 vs. 11.0 months for epithelioid vs. non-epithelioid histology, p < 0.001; 32.0 vs. 12.0 months for early-stage vs. metastatic disease, p < 0.001). Conclusions: CAR is a strong independent prognostic factor in MPM, reflecting systemic inflammation and nutritional status. Epithelioid histology and early-stage disease are associated with significantly longer survival, underscoring the critical role of early detection in improving patient outcomes.
Introduction: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer. This study investigated the association between MRI-derived pancreatic fat fraction and IPMN.. Material Methods: This retrospective case-control study included 60 patients with IPMN and 120 controls evaluated between 2018 and 2025. All participants underwent pancreatic MRI with proton density fat fraction (PDFF) imaging. Pancreatic fat fraction was measured in the pancreatic head, body, and tail on PDFF maps, and mean pancreatic fat fraction was calculated. Group comparisons, receiver operating characteristic analysis, and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between pancreatic fat fraction and IPMN. Results: A total of 180 participants were included in the study, comprising 60 patients with IPMN and 120 controls without IPMN. Patients with IPMN were significantly older than controls (72.5 vs. 57.0 years, p=0.001). The IPMN group demonstrated higher glucose and LDH levels and lower HDL cholesterol, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet counts compared with controls (all p<0.05). Pancreatic fat fraction measurements were significantly increased in patients with IPMN across all pancreatic regions. Head, body, tail, and mean pancreatic fat fractions were markedly higher in the IPMN group than in controls (all p=0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, age and pancreatic fat fraction remained independently associated with IPMN presence. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance, with mean pancreatic fat fraction showing the highest discriminative ability (AUC=0.968), followed by head (AUC=0.934), body (AUC=0.922), and tail fat fraction (AUC=0.876). Conclusion: Pancreatic fat fraction was significantly higher in patients with IPMN and remained independently associated with IPMN presence after multivariable adjustment. Mean pancreatic fat fraction demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance for distinguishing IPMN from non-IPMN individuals. Quantitative MRI-based assessment of pancreatic fat may represent a useful imaging biomarker for IPMN detection.
Introduction: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer. This study investigated the association between MRI-derived pancreatic fat fraction and IPMN. Materials and Methods: This retrospective case–control study included 60 patients with IPMN and 120 controls evaluated between 2018 and 2025. All participants underwent pancreatic MRI with proton density fat fraction (PDFF) imaging. Pancreatic fat fraction was measured in the pancreatic head, body, and tail on PDFF maps, and mean pancreatic fat fraction was calculated. Group comparisons, receiver operating characteristic analysis, and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between pancreatic fat fraction and IPMN. Results: A total of 180 participants were included in the study, comprising 60 patients with IPMN and 120 controls without IPMN. Patients with IPMN were significantly older than controls (72.5 vs. 57.0 years, p = 0.001). The IPMN group demonstrated higher glucose and LDH levels and lower HDL cholesterol, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet counts compared with controls (all p < 0.05). Pancreatic fat fraction measurements were significantly increased in patients with IPMN across all pancreatic regions. Head, body, tail, and mean pancreatic fat fractions were markedly higher in the IPMN group than in controls (all p = 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, age and pancreatic fat fraction remained independently associated with IPMN presence. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance, with mean pancreatic fat fraction showing the highest discriminative ability (AUC = 0.968), followed by head (AUC = 0.934), body (AUC = 0.922), and tail fat fraction (AUC = 0.876). Conclusions: Pancreatic fat fraction was significantly higher in patients with IPMN and remained independently associated with IPMN presence after multivariable adjustment. Mean pancreatic fat fraction demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance for distinguishing IPMN from non-IPMN individuals. Quantitative MRI-based assessment of pancreatic fat may represent a useful imaging biomarker for IPMN detection.