Inverse Association between Platelet–Lymphocyte Ratio and Prognosis in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients: A Preliminary Study

Abstract Background: An elevated platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is an indicator for worse outcomes in cancer, but its significance at the end of life remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the value of PLR as an independent prognostic factor in terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 312 terminal cancer patients and was conducted in a palliative care unit of a tertiary cancer center. Patient demographic data, clinical information, and laboratory values, including complete blood cell count, were obtained. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify independent prognostic factors for survival. Results: Median survival was 16 days in patients with PLR ≥200 and 9 days in patients with PLR <200 (p = 0.008). Results of multivariate analysis showed that the following factors predicted worse survival: poor performance status (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.16; 95% conf...