title: Do the derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio predict prognosis in breast cancer?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with cancer. Similarly, a study in a large series has shown that the newly defined derived NLR (dNLR; neutrophil/leukocyte-lymphocyte ratio) also has prognostic value. The present study retrospectively evaluates the prognostic significance of NLR and dNLR in breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hematological parameters and clinicopathological data during diagnosis were retrospectively recorded for 1,527 patients diagnosed with breast cancer at Izmir Katip Celebi University Ataturk Research and Training Hospital from January 2006 to December 2011. The cut-off values were determined by calculating the NLR and dNLR of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cut-off values were determined as 4 and 2 for NLR and dNLR, respectively. The association between NLR and dNLR assessed by Spearman's rank correlation analysis was 0.935 (P < 0.001). There was a significant difference regarding disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with NLR <4 and NLR ≥4 (respectively, P < 0.00, P < 0.001). Similarly, there was a significant difference regarding DFS and OS in patients with dNLR <2 and dNLR ≥2 (respectively, P < 0.001, P < 0.001). Furthermore, NLR and dNLR demonstrated a significant association with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging (P < 0.001). Assessment using the Cox proportional multivariate model showed that high NLR, pN, pT, luminal A-like, luminal B-like (HER2 positive), basal-like, and AJCC staging are independent prognostic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NLR was shown to be better than dNLR in terms of predicting prognosis in patients with breast cancer. However, large prospective studies are required to further demonstrate the prognostic significance of these two values.
authors: Medical Oncology Clinic, Izmir Katip Celebi University Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, 35360, Izmir, Turkey, ahmetdirican@yahoo.com.
authors: Ahmet
authors: A
authors: Dirican
authors: Betul Bolat
authors: BB
authors: Kucukzeybek
authors: Ahmet
authors: A
authors: Alacacioglu
authors: Yuksel
authors: Y
authors: Kucukzeybek
authors: Cigdem
authors: C
authors: Erten
authors: Umut
authors: U
authors: Varol
authors: Isil
authors: I
authors: Somali
authors: Lutfiye
authors: L
authors: Demir
authors: Ibrahim Vedat
authors: IV
authors: Bayoglu
authors: Yasar
authors: Y
authors: Yildiz
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Akyol
authors: Betul
authors: B
authors: Koyuncu
authors: Eyup
authors: E
authors: Coban
authors: Eda
authors: E
authors: Ulger
authors: Fulya Cakalagaoglu
authors: FC
authors: Unay
authors: Mustafa Oktay
authors: MO
authors: Tarhan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies