HALP Score as a New Prognostic Index in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer

Objective: To evaluate prognostic significance of the new index, designed by formulating hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) counts in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study:Department of Medical Oncology, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey and Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey, from January 2014 to April 2020. Methodology: Patients with metastatic RCC and sufficient follow-up data were included in the study as a retrospective cohort. HALP score was calculated as hemoglobin (g/L) x albumin (g/L) levels x lymphocyte count (/L)/platelet count (/L). The cut-off value was determined by examining the area under the ROC curve for the HALP value. The endpoints of this study included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: The mean overall survival (OS) of the patients with low HALP score was 17.7 months (95% CI, 2.21 -33.18), while the OS of the patients with high HALP score was 89.7 months (95% CI, 55.62 -123.77) and reached statistical significance (p=0.001). The results of univariate (p = 0.009) and multivariate (p=0.012) analyses were statistically significant as well. Conclusion: The HALP score in metastatic RCC patients was closely related to the prognosis. Worse OS was found in patients with a low HALP score.