A retrospective study on the prognostic value of preoperative neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Abstract

IntroductionThere is increasing evidence that systemic inflammation influences the prognosis in patients with malignant tumors. The aim of this research was to investigate the prognostic value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.MethodsThis study retrospectively analyzed 129 patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus who underwent esophagectomy in The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University between January 2008 and December 2010. NLRs were calculated by using the following formula: peripheral neutrophil count/lymphocyte count (109/L). Correlations of NLR with other clinicopathologic data and prognosis were analyzed. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan–Meier analysis. The differences between groups were compared by using the log-rank test. Cox regression was used to analyze the factors that may affect the survival of the patients.ResultsThe survival rate was found to be related to tumor stage, tumor location, nodal metastasis, TNM stage, histology, adjuvant therapy, and NLR (all P<0.05). High-NLR group had significantly poorer survival than low-NLR group (1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates: 46.6% vs 57.1%, 21.9% vs 50.0%, and 5.5% vs 23.2%, respectively, P=0.002). NLR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.ConclusionNLR is a valuable clinical marker in preoperative estimation as well as prognosis prediction for patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.