Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42618777›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2026

Prognostic stratification using the Aarhus Composite Biomarker Score in recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Mustafa Şahbazlar, Melike Dönmez, Ferhat Ekinci, Atike Pınar Erdoğan

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Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Comment on: Prognostic stratification using the Aarhus Composite Biomarker Score in recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mustafa ŞahbazlarDepartment of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mimar Sinan Boulevard No: 189, Uncubozköy, Yunusemre, Manisa, Turkey. mustafa.sahbazlar@cbu.edu.tr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1857-593X
Melike DönmezDepartment of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mimar Sinan Boulevard No: 189, Uncubozköy, Yunusemre, Manisa, Turkey.
Ferhat EkinciDepartment of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mimar Sinan Boulevard No: 189, Uncubozköy, Yunusemre, Manisa, Turkey.
Atike Pınar ErdoğanDepartment of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mimar Sinan Boulevard No: 189, Uncubozköy, Yunusemre, Manisa, Turkey.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeSystemic inflammation plays a major role in cancer progression and survival outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study investigated the prognostic significance of the Aarhus Composite Biomarker Score (ACBS) in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC and compared its performance with established inflammatory biomarkers, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI).

methodsThis retrospective single-center study included patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC who received first-line palliative systemic therapy between 2015 and 2025. Baseline inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers were calculated using pretreatment laboratory parameters. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Comparative prognostic performance was assessed using Harrell's concordance index, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).

resultsA total of 54 patients were included. Elevated CRP, neutrophil count, and NLR were associated with inferior OS, whereas higher hemoglobin and ALI values were associated with improved survival. Increasing ACBS category was significantly associated with worse OS (HR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.16-2.44, p = 0.006). In multivariate analyses including NLR and ALI, ACBS retained borderline prognostic significance (HR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.00-2.48, p = 0.050), whereas ALI lost significance. ACBS-based models demonstrated better fit than ALI-based models (AIC: 283.3 vs. 288.9). Time-dependent ROC analyses showed similar discrimination between ACBS and NLR (p = 0.953).

conclusionACBS demonstrated prognostic value in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC and may provide additional prognostic information beyond conventional biomarkers. Given its routine clinical availability, ACBS may represent a practical tool for clinical risk stratification in advanced HNSCC, although external validation is warranted.

Indexed as

Aarhus Composite Biomarker ScoreAdvanced lung cancer inflammation indexHead and neck squamous cell carcinomaInflammatory biomarkersNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratioPrognosis

Identifiers

PMID42618777

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.