Association Between the Preoperative Haemoglobin–Albumin–Lymphocyte–Platelet Score and Histopathological Diagnosis in Surgically Resected Intracardiac Masses

Objectives To evaluate the association between the preoperative haemoglobin–albumin–lymphocyte–platelet (HALP) score and histopathological diagnosis in patients undergoing surgical resection of intracardiac masses, and to assess its potential role as an adjunctive risk stratification tool. Methods In this retrospective single‐centre cohort study, 96 adult patients who underwent surgical resection of an intracardiac mass between January 2010 and December 2024 were analysed. Final histopathology classified lesions as benign ( n = 76) or malignant ( n = 20). The HALP score was calculated from preoperative laboratory parameters. Group comparisons were performed using the Mann–Whitney U test. Discriminative performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age and sex was conducted to evaluate the independent association. Results Median HALP was significantly lower in malignant compared with benign lesions (24.69 [IQR 21.71–25.15] vs. 32.29 [IQR 22.63–53.32]; p = 0.003). ROC analysis demonstrated moderate discriminative ability (AUC 0.72; 95% CI 0.61–0.81). The optimal cut‐off value (HALP = 26.91) yielded 100% sensitivity and 65.8% specificity. In multivariable analysis adjusted for age and sex, HALP remained independently associated with malignancy (OR 0.95 per unit increase; 95% CI 0.90–0.99; p = 0.027), although the magnitude of the clinical effect was limited. Conclusions Lower preoperative HALP scores were independently associated with malignant intracardiac masses. Although its discriminative performance is moderate, HALP may serve as a simple and readily available adjunctive marker for preoperative risk stratification. External validation in larger, multicentre cohorts is required before clinical implementation.