title: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio: Prognostic indicator for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has prognostic significance for many cancers, with higher values correlating with poor outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of this inflammatory marker for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
  
  
  
  Univariate logistic regression and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed on a retrospective cohort of 123 patients treated with primary chemoradiotherapy.
  
  
  
  The NLR is an indicator of both recurrence-free and overall survival, but the NLR does not have independent prognostic significance when the favorable prognostic influence of human papillomavirus (HPV) status is incorporated into multivariate models.
  
  
  
  The interaction between NLR and HPV status suggests that HPV status may be a determining factor in the favorable prognosis associated with a decreased NLR in HNSCC; these findings also suggest that HPV status may interact with the prognostic associations of indicators of systemic inflammation in HNSCC. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 662-667, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0785-2797
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rosculet
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Xian Chong
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.|Milton J. Dance Jr. Head and Neck Center, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.|Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.|Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Marshall A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Neuner
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.|Milton J. Dance Jr. Head and Neck Center, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.|Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Califano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; human papillomavirus (HPV); inflammatory markers; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; prognosis