Aberrant Inflammatory Cells of Peripheral Blood in Nasal Inverted Papilloma

Introduction: Nasal inverted papilloma (NIP) is a common nasal benign tumor, with a complex pathogenesis closely linked to inflammatory response. It can be classified into Grade-I and Grade-II phenotypes based on nasal epithelium abnormality. Our objective is to investigate potential inflammatory biomarkers in peripheral blood of NIP patients for preoperative assessment of disease severity. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed inflammatory cells in the peripheral blood of 63 healthy controls and 82 NIP patients, while distinguishing different phenotypes of NIP through immunofluorescent and hematoxylin and eosin staining. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we assessed the predictive value of the monocytes%-to-lymphocytes% ratio (M%L%R) for peripheral blood abnormalities in NIP and explored its correlation with clinical data by Spearman r characteristic. Results: We observed an increase in monocytes% and decrease in lymphocytes% proportion, while the level of M%L%R was upregulated in the peripheral blood of NIP patients (all p < 0.05). Immunofluorescent staining revealed basal cell proliferation and squamous metaplasia, along with inhibited differentiation of ciliated and goblet cells in the nasal epithelium of NIP. Correlation analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between M%L%R and degree of nasal epithelial deterioration (r = 0.2999, p = 0.0062). Finally, M%L%R level was significantly increased in both Grade-I and Grade-II patients (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: The expression level of M%L%R in the peripheral blood of patients with NIP can serve as a potential biomarker for preoperative evaluation of the severity of nasal epithelial lesions.