Log odds of negative lymph nodes/T stage ratio (LONT): A new prognostic tool for differentiated thyroid cancer without metastases in patients aged 55 and older.

Background: The optimal approach to assess the postoperative status of lymph nodes in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) remains controversial. Our aim was to determine if the log odds of negative lymph nodes/T stage ratio (LONT) could serve as a new prognostic and predictive tool for DTC without metastases in patients aged ≥ 55 years. Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to study the role of LONT in patients aged ≥55 years diagnosed with DTC without metastases. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). The Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard regression model were used to calculate the outcome. Moreover, the robustness of research findings was evaluated using sensitivity analyses. Results: A total of 21,172 DTC patients aged ≥55 years without distant metastasis were enrolled. Multivariate Cox regression analyses and a "floating absolute risk" analysis showed that a LONT ≥0.920 (vs. -0.56 to 0.92) was a protective factor for OS in DTC patients. Sensitivity analyses revealed an E-value of 1.98 for the obtained LONT value. In subgroup analyses, LONT was correlated significantly with OS in different subgroups of negative lymph nodes, stage-I-II subgroups and the N0 subgroup. The conditional probability of survival of DTC improved with prolonged survival time in the LONT ≥0.920 group. Conclusion: A high LONT was associated with longer OS compared with low LONT in patients aged ≥55 years with non-metastatic DTC. LONT could provide valuable information for undertaking postoperative evaluations.

Predictive Value of the Log Odds of Negative Lymph Nodes/T Stage as a Novel Prognostic Factor in Bladder Cancer Patients After Radical Cystectomy.

Background: The effect of lymph node resection on the prognosis of bladder cancer (BLCA) patients receiving radical cystectomy should not be ignored. Our aim was to explore the prognostic value of the log odds of negative lymph nodes/T stage (LONT) and construct a more effective nomogram based on LONT to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) in postoperative BLCA patients. Methods: Patients diagnosed with BLCA after radical cystectomy between 2004 and 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were enrolled. We randomly split (7:3) these patients into the primary cohort and internal validation cohort. 86 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University were collected as the external validation set. Univariate and multivariate cox regression analyses were carried out to seek prognostic factors of postoperative BLCA patients. According to these significantly prognostic factors, a simple-to-use nomogram was established for predicting CSS. Their performances were evaluated by using calibration curves, the concordance index (C-index), the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). In addition, different risk groups were tested by Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Result: Whether in cancer-specific survival (CSS) or overall survival (OS), LONT was an independent and significant prognostic factor. Through further screening, the ultimate nomogram of CSS was composed of nine independent prognostic factors including LONT, age, race, tumor size, histologic type, T stage, N stage, summary stage and chemotherapy. The C-index of nomogram in the primary cohort, internal and external validation cohort were 0.734, 0.720 and 0.728, respectively. The AUC of predicting CSS at 3 and 5 years were 0.783 and 0.774 in the primary cohort and 0.781 and 0.781 in the validation cohort. The results of calibration and DCA showed good concordance and clinical applicability. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were displayed in CSS among different risk groups. Conclusion: LONT was regarded as a novel and reliable prognostic factor. Compared with the AJCC staging system, the established nomogram based on LONT can more effectively predict the prognosis of BLCA patients after radical cystectomy.

Prognostic and Predictive Model of the Log Odds of the Negative Lymph Node/T Stage Ratio in Resectable Gastric Adenocarcinoma Patients.

PURPOSE: There are few reports on disease-specific survival (DSS) prediction systems for resected gastric cancer (GC) patients. The aim of this study was to create a nomogram based on the log odds of the negative lymph node/T stage ratio (LONT) for individual risk prediction. METHODS: We applied the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database released in 2021 to screen GC patients from 2010 to 2015. Using a competitive risk model, we plotted the cumulative risk curve of variables for gastric cancer-specific death and death from other causes at each time point. According to the minimum BIC, we constructed and assessed a nomogram for the 12-month, 36-month, and 60-month cumulative mortality probabilities assessed by time-dependent ROC curves (time-AUCs), the C-index, Brier scores, decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration curves. RESULTS: A total of 3895 patients were ultimately included and randomly assigned to two sets: the training set (n = 2726, 70%) and the validation set (n = 1169, 30%). The LONT was a remarkable independent predictor of gastric cancer-specific death (high versus low: 0.705, 95% CI 0.524-0.95, p = 0.021). The variables selected based on the minimum BIC were as follows: location, AJCC, AJCC.T, AJCC.N, radiotherapy, LONT.cat, and chemotherapy. According to the time-AUC, C-index, Brier score, DCA, and calibration curves, the nomogram risk score had excellent survival prediction ability for DSS. CONCLUSIONS: A low LONT was associated with a high cumulative incidence of DSS. A prognostic nomogram model based on the LONT could effectively predict DSS for resectable GC patients.

The log odds of negative lymph nodes/T stage: a new prognostic and predictive tool for resected gastric cancer patients.

PURPOSE: When only the TNM classification is used to predict survival in gastric cancer (GC) patients, the impact of the degree of lymphadenectomy on the prognosis is neglected. This study aimed to establish a more effective nomogram based on the log odds of negative lymph nodes/T stage ratio (LONT) to predict survival in surgically treated GC patients. METHODS: The data of resected GC patients were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify the significant prognostic factors. The prognostic performance was assessed using a calibration plot, concordance index (C-index), and area under the (time-dependent receiver operating characteristic) curve (AUC) to compare the predicted survival probability based on the nomogram score groups. RESULTS: The results showed LONT as an independent prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS), independent of clinicopathological factors. After removing potential redundancy, only LONT, T stage, N stage, location and age were used in the final nomogram model. The model had a higher C-index (0.736 ± 0.012) and AUC (0.798) than the TNM staging system (0.685 ± 0.012 and 0.744). The nomogram score could predict a significant survival difference between any two adjacent groups in terms of CSS and OS. CONCLUSION: High LONT is associated with improved survival of gastric cancer patients, independent of other clinicopathological factors. The prognostic nomogram model based on LONT could effectively predict CSS and OS for resectable GC patients.