The Clinical Centre of Niš (Serbian: Клинички Центар у Нишу; abbr. КЦН / KCN) is a medical centre located in Niš, Serbia. It serves as the main medical centre for both Niš and Southern and Southeastern Serbia..
Background/Objectives: This study evaluates the prognostic value of baseline inflammatory biomarkers, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV) in advanced cutaneous melanoma treated with first-line immunotherapy. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 162 patients with unresectable stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma treated with first-line pembrolizumab, nivolumab, or nivolumab plus ipilimumab. Biomarkers were calculated from complete blood counts obtained within 30 days before treatment start. Cut-offs were defined by ROC analysis. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. Response was assessed by RECIST v1.1. Results: Higher baseline NLR, PLR, MLR, SII, and PIV were more common in patients with adverse baseline features, including liver metastases, elevated LDH, and poorer ECOG performance status. Patients with biomarker values below the cut-offs had significantly longer PFS and OS. In biomarker-specific multivariable models adjusted for selected clinical covariates, PIV retained the most consistent association with PFS and OS, while MLR was associated with PFS, and PLR with OS. Conclusions: Baseline inflammatory biomarkers from routine blood counts provide useful prognostic information in advanced melanoma treated with first-line ICIs. PIV showed the most consistent association with survival outcomes and may support initial risk stratification alongside LDH, ECOG, and metastasis pattern. However, prospective validation in independent cohorts is needed before routine clinical implementation.
Introduction:Surgical resection of non-metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma remains the gold standard treatment. Laparoscopy offers various advantages over the open surgical modality. However, the adoption of laparoscopy in different countries is slow because of the associated learning curve and the apprehension around the integrity of the resection margin. Aim:To compare short-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open resections for colorectal cancer performed in a single institution. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 99 consecutive patients who underwent elective resection for adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum. Patients were divided into two groups, the open surgery group and the laparoscopic group, then matched into 30 pairs using a propensity score. Variables compared between the groups were demographics, tumor localization, type of resection, 30-day postoperative outcome, number of lymph nodes, length of resected specimens, distal margins, tumor T stage, and TNM stage. Results:Compared to open surgery, laparoscopy resulted in significantly shorter hospital stays and reduced complications, particularly infections (p < 0.05), in the matched patients. There was no statistical difference between the groups in the other analyzed variables (p > 0.05). Conclusion:The results suggest that patients who underwent laparoscopic resection experienced significant improvements in the first 30 days postoperatively when compared to patients who underwent open resection. Patients in the laparoscopy group had fewer complications, a faster postoperative recovery, and a shorter hospital stay than patients in the open group, while adhering to oncological resection principles.
