Prognostic Role Of Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio Research Articles

Diagnostic and prognostic role of NLR in testicular cancer.

To summarize the results of available studies for investigating the role of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in testicular cancer (tCa). The search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to November 21, 2021. Finally, a total of 31 studies were included in this review. NLR was higher in tCa patients compared to healthy controls and benign testis pathologies, and decreased significantly after orchiectomy. An elevated NLR predicts poor prognosis, advanced stage, presence of nodal or distant metastases, contralateral tumor development, lower time-to-cancer specific death, worse OS, and poorer response to chemotherapy. However, NLR could not differentiate between seminomas and non-seminomatous tCa. NLR has a significant diagnostic and prognostic value in tCa.

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a clinical picture that indicates severe acute hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are convenient, uncomplicated, and inexpensive parameters that can be used in detecting the severity of the disease. The prognostic role of NLR and PLR in patients with pediatric ARDS is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate if there was any relationship between initial hematological parameters and the stages of ARDS, duration of mechanical ventilation and the length of intensive care stay in pediatric ARDS. Of 34 patients diagnosed with ARDS, 5 excluded, a total of 29 patients who were followed in our pediatric intensive care unit between 2016 and 2018 were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were retrospectively registered in terms of demographical features, disease severity scores (PIM2, PRISM III, PELOD scores), lymphocyte, neutrophil and platelet counts and NLR, PLR values in complete blood count during intensive care unit stay and on the day of discharge, the stages of ARDS, duration of mechanical and the length of intensive care stay. There was a significant relationship between NLR values and ARDS stages on the first day of the admittance (P = .003). There was a moderate correlation between NLR and PELOD scores on the day of admittance and it was statistically significant (r = 0.45, P = .026). There was no correlation between mechanical ventilation time and the length of intensive care stay and NLR-PLR values. Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio was not identified as a prognostic factor in our study. In diagnosis of the severity of ARDS with severe acute hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency, NLR is a convenient and inexpensive parameter that can only be calculated by complete blood count.

Relation of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to survival and toxicity in head and neck cancer patients treated with (chemo-) radiation

BackgroundA high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of systemic inflammation and together with the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is associated with worse outcomes in several solid tumors. We investigated the prognostic value of NLR and PLR in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with primary or adjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy ((C)RT).MethodsA retrospective chart review of consecutive patients with HNSCC was performed. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and PLR were computed using complete blood counts (CBCs) performed within 10 days before treatment start. The prognostic role of NLR and PLR was evaluated with univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses adjusting for disease-specific prognostic factors. NLR and PLR were assessed as log-transformed continuous variables (log NLR and log PLR). Endpoints of interest were overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and acute toxicity.ResultsWe analyzed 186 patients treated from 2007 to 2010. Primary sites were oropharynx (45%), oral cavity (28%), hypopharynx (14%), and larynx (13%). Median follow-up was 49 months. Higher NLR was associated with OS (adjusted HR per 1 unit higher log NLR = 1.81 (1.16–2.81), p = 0.012), whereas no association could be shown with LRFS (HR = 1.49 (0,83-2,68), p = 0.182), DRFS (HR = 1.38 (0.65–3.22), p = 0.4), or acute toxicity grade ≥ 2. PLR was not associated with outcome, nor with toxicity.ConclusionOur data suggest that in HNSCC patients treated with primary or adjuvant (C)RT, NLR is an independent predictor of mortality, but not disease-specific outcomes or toxicity. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is a readily available biomarker that could improve pre-treatment prognostication and may be used for risk-stratification.

Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic predictor after curative-intent surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma: experience from a developing country.

PurposeThe aim of the study was to evaluate a prognostic value of preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on long-term survival of cirrhotic and noncirrhotic hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients managed by a curative-intent liver surgery in a developing country.Patients and methodsDuring the study period between November 1, 2001, and December 31, 2012, 109 patients underwent potentially curative hepatectomy for HCC. Data were retrospectively reviewed from the prospectively collected database. The median follow-up was 25 months. NLR was estimated by dividing an absolute neutrophil count by an absolute lymphocyte count from the differential blood count. Receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the ability of NLR to predict long-term outcomes and to determine an optimal cutoff value for all patients group, the subgroup with cirrhosis, and the subgroup without cirrhosis. The optimal cutoff values were 1.28, 1.28, and 2.09, respectively.ResultsThe overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 49% and 45%, respectively, for low NLR group and 38% and 26%, respectively, for high NLR group. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.015). Overall survival was similar between low and high NLR groups in patients with cirrhosis; no difference was found between the groups (p=0.124). In patients without cirrhosis, low NLR group had longer overall survival compared with high NLR group (p=0.015). Univariate analysis identified four factors as significant predictors of long-term survival: cirrhosis, Child-Pugh score, platelet count, and NLR. On multivariate analysis, only platelet count and NLR were independent prognostic factors of long-term survival.ConclusionPrognostic value of NLR was confirmed in noncirrhotic HCC patients who underwent curative-intent liver surgery. In HCC patients with cirrhosis, the prognostic role of NLR was not confirmed.

Value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of mortality in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied as a measure of inflammation and as a prognosticating factor in various medical conditions including neoplastic, inflammatory and cardiovascular. The prognostic role of NLR in predicting mortality in patients with aortic stenosis undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) has not been studied. The aim of our study is to explore the utility of NLR as a predictor of both, short and long-term mortality, in patients undergoing surgical AVR. Consecutive patients with aortic stenosis admitted for AVR to our institution were evaluated for study inclusion. Of the 335 patients admitted from January 2007 to September 2011, 234 met study inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into two groups depending on their initial preoperative NLR level with a cutoff value of 3. Three-year vital status was accessed with electronic medical records and Social Security Death Index. Survival analysis, stratified by NLR, was used to evaluate the predictive value of preoperative NLR levels. Patients with NLR ≥3, when compared to those with NLR <3, had a significantly higher short-term (9.40% vs. 0, P=0.0006), 6-month (19.54% vs. 0.95%, P<0.0001), and 3-year mortality (27.35% vs. 3.78%, P<0.0001). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, co-morbidities, symptomatology, echocardiographic findings, and blood tests, NLR level remained a significant independent predictor of 3-year mortality; Hazard ratios (HRs) increased by a factor of 1.18 (1.05-1.33, P=0.0068) and patients with a NLR ≥3 had 4.77 fold increase in 3-year mortality (1.48-15.32, P=0.0090). NLR is an independent predictor of short-term and long-term mortality in patients with aortic stenosis undergoing AVR surgery, especially those with NLR ≥3. We strongly suggest the use of NLR as a tool to risk stratify patients with aortic stenosis undergoing AVR surgery.

The use of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a predictor for clinical outcomes in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

ObjectiveNeutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is used as an independent predictor for clinical outcomes in cancers, cardiovascular disorders and ischemic stroke. The prognostic role of NLR in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) is still controversial. The aim of this report is to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic significance NLR in patients with sICH.Materials and MethodsAll related articles were searched on PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials followed the PRISMA flow diagram. The quality of eligible studies were evaluated and the related data were extracted by two reviewers independently. The end points included the mortality and poor outcomes and subgroup analyses were performed.ResultsFive studies with 1944 subjects were included and had acceptable quality. The high NLR had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.94–0.99, p = 0.02) and 90-day mortality (OR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.01–5.83, p = 0.047); without association with the poor outcomes (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.93–1.47, p = 0.18). After subgroup analyses, the high NLR correlated with an increased 90-day mortality in the high cut-off group (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.15–2.13, p = 0.005). The high NLR additionally predicts poor outcomes in smaller hematoma group (OR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.01–1.32, p = 0.04) and the high cut-off group (OR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.54–3.14, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe high NLR was significantly associated with in-hospital and 90-day mortality in patients with sICH. The NLR with cut-off of 7.5 had statistically significant potential for predicting mortality and poor outcomes, regardless of country, time of laboratory test and hematoma volumes.

Prognostic significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) in untreated and treated stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): An Australian cancer centre experience.

e20630 Background: Baseline high NLR predicts poorer outcome in stage IV NSCLC; post-treatment variation in NLR and potential impact on overall survival (OS) is not clear in this group. Prognostic implications of PLR and LMR are not well studied for stage IV NSCLC. We aimed to assess the prognostic role of NLR, LMR and PLR in stage IV NSCLC at diagnosis and post-treatment. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of 279 patients with Stage IV NSCLC treated at our centre over five year period (2010 to 2015). NLR, PLR and LMR calculated at diagnosis and post first cycle chemotherapy/targeted treatment. Demographic variables summarized. Estimates of Kaplan-Meier survival distributions for OS were generated. Cox regression used to derive OS hazard ratios of predictive variables. Approval from ethics committee obtained. Results: Baseline NLR, PLR and LMR showed strong association with OS. A five-unit increase at baseline (treatment start date) in NLR was associated with an 11% increase in the hazard of death (HR = 1.115, 95% CI: 1.077-1.148) while the same increase in PLR was associated with 0.5% increase in the hazard of death (HR = 1.005, 95% CI:1-1.005). A five-unit increase in LMR at baseline was associated with a 50% reduction in the hazard of death (HR = 0.50, 95% CI:0.260-0.956). Post-treatment NLR, PLR and LMR were examined in 221 patients. Fitted models incorporating adjustment for baseline values demonstrated that increasing NLR correlated with a shorter OS (HR = 1.574, 95% CI:1.295-1.917) but no statistically significant relationship could be demonstrated for PLR nor LMR. Conclusions: While NLR, PLR and LMR showed significant associations with OS prior to treatment, only NLR showed an association with OS after treatment. OS was shorter for high NLR and high PLR at baseline compared to low NLR and low PLR at baseline. OS was longer for high LMR at baseline compared to low at baseline. An increase in NLR post-treatment correlated with a shorter OS. This is the first study examining the prognostic significance of all three ratios in patients with untreated and treated stage IV NSCLC.

EP-1205: The prognostic role of Neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio in limited disease small-cell lung cancer

EP-1205: The prognostic role of Neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio in limited disease small-cell lung cancer

Prognostic Significance of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Oncologic Outcomes of Cholangiocarcinoma: A Meta-analysis.

Increasing evidence indicates that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a useful biomarker of long-term outcomes in patients with cholangiocarcinoma. However, the prognostic role of NLR in patients with cholangiocarcinoma remains unclear. Thus, the current meta-analysis was undertaken to clarify the correlation between NLR and overall survival (OS) in cholangiocarcinoma, and a comprehensive literature research was conducted to understand the association of NLR and prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess OS. The synthesized HR of 1.449 (95% CI: 1.296–1.619, P < 0.001) indicated that a high NLR had an unfavourable effect on OS. Overall, this meta-analysis suggested that elevated preoperative NLR is associated with poorer rates of survival in cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Promising role of preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy

ObjectiveSeveral retrospective studies with small cohorts reported neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic marker in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). We aimed at validating the predictive and prognostic role of NLR in a large multi-institutional cohort.MethodsPreoperative NLR was assessed in a multi-institutional cohort of 2477 patients with UTUC treated with RNU. Altered NLR was defined by a ratio >2.7. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between NLR and lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive and non-organ-confined disease. The association of altered NLR with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.ResultsAltered NLR was observed in 1428 (62.8 %) patients and associated with more advanced pathological tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, tumor necrosis and sessile tumor architecture. In a preoperative model that included age, gender, tumor location and architecture, NLR was an independent predictive factor for the presence of lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive and non-organ-confined disease (p < 0.001). Within a median follow-up of 40 months (IQR 20–76 months), 548 (24.1 %) patients experienced disease recurrence and 453 patients (19.9 %) died from their cancer. Compared to patients with normal NLR, those with altered NLR had worse RFS (0.003) and CSS (p = 0.002). In multivariable analyses that adjusted for the effects of standard clinicopathologic features, altered NLR did not retain an independent value. In the subgroup of patients treated with lymphadenectomy in addition to RNU, NLR was independently associated with CSS (p = 0.03).ConclusionIn UTUC, preoperative NLR is associated with adverse clinicopathologic features and independently predicts features of biologically and clinically aggressive UTUC such as lymph node metastasis, muscle-invasive or non-organ-confined status. NLR may help better risk stratify patients with regard to lymphadenectomy and conservative therapy.

Baseline neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic marker for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer being treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

468 Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory marker, has been associated with a poor prognosis in several solid malignancies. In muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), an elevated pre-cystectomy NLR has been shown to predict for poor survival; however, its role in prognostication for patients being treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is unknown. We evaluated the baseline NLR as an independent prognostic factor in patients with MIBC treated with NAC. Methods: Patients with MIBC treated with NAC in Alberta from 2005 to 2015, and at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Ontario from 2005 to 2013 were evaluated. All 290 patients treated with NAC were included; 272 were evaluable for NLR and outcomes. Patient, disease, and treatment-related factors were evaluated. NLR was examined prior to initiation of preoperative chemotherapy. The prognostic role of NLR on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was determined using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. Results: The median age of patients was 66 years (range 36-87). The majority of patients (77%) were male. Median baseline NLR at diagnosis was 2.9. NLR &gt; 3.0 at baseline was independently associated with PFS and OS after adjustment for age, gender and stage (Table). Patients with an NLR &gt; 3 had a median PFS of 14.1 months compared to 25.1 months in those patients with a baseline NLR ≤ 3 (HR 0.63, p = 0.01). Similarly, OS was 19.4 months in patients with a baseline NLR &gt; 3 compared to 33.4 months in those with a baseline NLR ≤ 3 (HR 0.65, p = 0.04). Conclusions: NLR is an independent prognostic factor for patients with MIBC undergoing NAC. [Table: see text]

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio predicts survival in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma on chemotherapy.

The blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is reported to be a prognostic marker in several cancers. However, the prognostic role of NLR in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma on chemotherapy is unknown. A total of 221 patients with pathologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy were enrolled. Associations between baseline clinical and laboratory variables including NLR and survival were investigated. Patients were classified into two groups according to the NLR level (≤ 5 vs. >5). Median overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) in patients with NLR ≤ 5 were 10.9 and 6.7 months, respectively, and 6.8 and 4.1 months in patients with NLR > 5 (P < 0.001, P = 0.002, respectively). In multivariate analysis, number of cycles of chemotherapy was a significant predictor of longer OS (HR 0.86, P < 0.001), whereas adverse prognostic factors for OS were CA 19-9 > 300 (HR 1.43, P = 0.025), CEA > 5 (HR 1.44, P = 0.029), higher stage (HR 1.69, P = 0.004), and NLR > 5 (HR 1.87, P < 0.001). NLR > 5 was also associated with reduced TTP (HR 1.66, P = 0.007). Among 50 patients with initial NLR > 5, 33 patients had NLR ≤ 5 after two cycles of chemotherapy and they had significantly better survival than the others (HR 0.48, P = 0.015). NLR independently predicts survival in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma undergoing chemotherapy. Considering cost-effectiveness and easy availability, NLR may be a useful biomarker for prognosis prediction.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a diagnostic biomarker for the diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia

Due to the diagnostic challenges and dreadful consequences of delayed treatment of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI), a variety of diagnostic markers have been previously studied. However, the diagnostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), which has been suggested to be a predictor of inflammation, has never been studied for AMI. The data of 70 patients who underwent laparotomy (n=8) and/or bowel resection (n=62) for AMI (n=70) between January 2009 and March 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. To investigate the studied parameters' role in the differential diagnosis of AMI, control groups were selected from most common reasons of inflammation-related emergent surgery, acute appendicitis (AA, n=62) and normal appendix (NA, n=61). White blood cell (WBC), red cell distribution width (RDW), NLR and mean platelet volume (MPV) values were recorded. Outcome variables of the study were defined as diagnostic and prognostic role of NLR in AMI. RDW and NLR values were found to be higher in the AMI group than the AA group (p<0.001 and p<0.001). Also, WBC and MPV values were higher in the AMI group than the NA group (p=0.001 and p<0.001). Combined sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of RDW and NLR for recommended cut-off values were 69.4, 71.2, 57.8 and 80.4%, respectively. High NLR value (>9.9) seems to be a valuable diagnostic marker of acute mesenteric ischemia. Combined use of NLR, RDW and other clinical assessment, could help the diagnosis of AMI, especially in the absence of advanced imaging modalities and expert radiologic interpretation.

Change in neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic and predictive marker in response to targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

404 Background: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of inflammation. We evaluated whether NLR is independently prognostic when adjusted for the International mRCC Database Consortium (IMDC) model and evaluated change in NLR ("NLR conversion") as a predictive marker of response to targeted therapy. Methods: A total of 5,227 metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients treated with targeted therapy were included; 1,199 patients in the training cohort from the IMDC and 4028 patients as the validation cohort from pooled prospective randomized controlled trials involving targeted therapy. NLR was examined at initiation of first-line targeted therapy and at 6 weeks after. The prognostic role of NLR and NLR conversion on overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) was assessed using Cox regression models adjusting for IMDC prognostic score. Results: Median baseline NLR was 3.4 and 2.9 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. NLR &gt;3.0 at baseline was independently associated with OS and PFS in both the training and validation cohorts (Table). A decrease in NLR by week 6 was associated with longer OS (21.1 vs. 9.7 months; HR 0.57, p&lt;0.001), PFS (8.8 vs. 4.6 months; HR 0.54, p&lt;0.001), and higher objective response rates (35% vs. 13%, p&lt;0.001) compared to patients without a decrease. A rise in NLR showed opposite effects for all three endpoints. These findings were also confirmed in the validation set. Conclusions: NLR is an independent prognostic factor after controlling for IMDC criteria. NLR conversion can be an early biomarker of benefit to targeted therapy. [Table: see text]

Prognostic Role of NLR in Urinary Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

BackgroundRecently, many studies explored the role of inflammation parameters such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the prognosis of urinary cancers, but the results were not consistent.MethodsWe carried out a meta-analysis of published studies to assess the prognostic value of NLR in patients with urinary cancers. Hazard ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the association of NLR and OS and RFS/CSS.ResultsThe pooled results showed that high NLR was a poor predictor for OS with HR of 1.81 (95%CI: 1.48–2.21; Pheterogeneity = 0.005) and RFS/CSS (HR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.65–2.6; Pheterogeneity = 0.849). Subgroup analyses revealed that high NLR yielded a worse OS in RCC (HR = 1.9, 95%CI: 1.47–2.45; Pheterogeneity = 0.003) and a poor RFS/CSS in RCC (HR = 1.83, 95%CI: 1.35–2.48; Pheterogeneity = 0.709), bladder cancer (HR = 2.2, 95%CI: 1.27–3.8; Pheterogeneity = 0.447) and urothelial carcinoma (HR = 2.58, 95%CI: 1.66–4.01; Pheterogeneity = 0.784).ConclusionOur results showed that NLR could act as a significant biomarker in the prognosis of urinary cancers.