Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is an independent prognostic marker in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been shown to be associated with prognosis in various solid tumors. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic role of NLR in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).


METHODS
A total of 141 LSCC patients were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' demographics were analyzed along with clinical and pathologic data. The optimal cutoff value of NLR was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The impact of the NLR and other potential prognostic factors on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression analysis.


RESULTS
The optimal cutoff value of the NLR was 2.17. In the NLR ≤ 2.17 group, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year DFS rates were 88.2, 73.9 and 69.1 %, respectively, while in the NLR > 2.17 group, the DFS rates were 83.0, 54.6 and 49.2 %, respectively. Correspondingly, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 98.9, 85.1 and 77.4 % in the NLR ≤ 2.17 group and 97.9, 63.8 and 53.3 % in the NLR > 2.17 group, respectively. The multivariate Cox proportional hazard model analysis showed that NLR > 2.17 was a prognostic factor for both DFS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.869; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.078-3.243; P = 0.026] and OS (HR =2.177; 95 % CI 1.208-3.924; P = 0.010).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed that elevated preoperative NLR was an independent predictor of poor prognosis for patients with LSCC after surgical resection.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. tuxiuping105@163.com.
Xiu-Ping
XP
Tu
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. qiuqianhui@hotmail.com.
Qian-Hui
QH
Qiu
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. lancer_chen@hotmail.com.
Liang-Si
LS
Chen
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. luoxn_ent@126.com.
Xiao-Ning
XN
Luo
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. entlu@126.com.
Zhong-Ming
ZM
Lu
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. szhang555@hotmail.com.
Si-Yi
SY
Zhang
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China. chenshaohua1168@163.com.
Shao-Hua
SH
Chen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends