title: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is an independent prognostic factor in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer.
abstract: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been widely investigated for its prognostic significance in cancer. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether NLR is a prognostic factor in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). A total of 79 patients from the Akdeniz University database were retrospectively analyzed. The cut-off NLR was set at 2.93; patients with NLR >2.93 had a median overall survival (OS) of 12.1 months, whereas the median OS was not reached for patients with NLR ≤2.93 (P=0.027). On multivariate analysis, NLR and recurrence or metastatic site were found to be independent prognostic factors for OS (P=0.014 and P=0.002, respectively). Therefore, NLR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Derya Kivrak
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Salim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melek Karakurt
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Eryilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Salim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma Yalçin
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Musri
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tural
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Şeyda
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Gündüz
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Akdeniz University Hospital, School of Medicine, Antalya 07059, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan Şenol
authors.initials: HŞ
authors.lastname: Coşkun
keywords: head and neck cancer; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; prognosis; survival