Table 2.
Published studies about neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).
| Author | Cancer type | Study nature | Cutoff | Outcome measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azab et al. [4] | Breast | Retrospective | 3.3 | NLR > 3.3 is predictor of higher mortality |
| Lee et al. [5] | gastric | Prospective | 3 | NLR normalization after one cycle of chemotherapy correlates with OS and PFS |
| He et al. [6] | Colorectal (metastatic) | Retrospective | 3 | NLR < 3 associated with better OS |
| Feng et al. [7] | Esophageal | Prospective | 3.5 | RFS, OS are not correlated with NLR |
| Stotz et al. [8] | Pancreatic | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with CSS |
| Absenger et al. [9] | Colorectal (stage II-III) | Retrospective | 4 | NLR > 4 associated to lower TTR |
| Gomez et al. [10] | HCC | Retrospective | 5 | Preoperative NLR > 5 was an adverse predictor of DFS/OS |
| Cho et al. [11] | Ovarian | Retrospective | 2.6 | NLR > 2.6 associated with lower OS and DFS |
| Kao et al. [12] | Mesothelioma | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with lower OS |
| Jung et al. [13] | Gastric | Retrospective | 3 | NLR > 3 predict worse OS/DFS |
| Kim et al. [14] | Thyroid | Retrospective | — | NLR is a negative prognostic factor in papillary thyroid carcinomas |
| Walsh et al. [15] | Colorectal | Retrospective | 5 | NLR greater than 5 correlated with OS/CSS |
| Hung et al. [16] | Colorectal | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with significantly worse OS and DFS |
| Halazun et al. [17] | Liver metastasis of colorectal cancer | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 predictive for risk of death and recurrence |
| Tomita et al. [18] | NSCLC | Retrospective | 2.5 | NLR > 2.5 associated to lower survival at 5 years |
| Keizman et al. [19] | Renal | Retrospective | 3 | NLR < 3 associated with better PFS and OS |
| Kim et al. [20] | Uterine Sarcoma | Retrospective | 2.12 | NLR not correlated with PFS and OS, but good marker of progression |
| Sharaiha et al. [21] | Esophageal | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 was associated with significantly worse DFS and OS |
| Garcea et al. [22] | Pancreatic | Prospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated to lower DFS |
| Forget et al. [23] | Breast, Renal, Lung | Retrospective | 4/3 3 5 |
High NLR, associated with poorer prognosis (mortality, recurrence) |
| Ong et al. [24] | pancreatic | Retrospective | — | Significantly higher in patients undergoing bypass at exploration for potentially curative carcinoma |
| Aliustaoglu et al. [25] | pancreatic | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with poor survival |
| Aliustaoglu et al. [26] | Gastric | Retrospective | 2.56 | NLR < 2.56 associated with higher survival |
| An et al. [27] | Pancreatic | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with shortened survival |
| Kishi et al. [28] | Liver metastasis of colorectal cancer | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 correlated with OS. When chemotherapy normalizes high NLR, improved survival is expected. |
| Guthrie et al. [29] | Colorectal | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associated with lower OS |
| Fox et al. [30] | Renal | Retrospective | — | High NLR associated with OS |
| Mano et al. [31] | HCC | Retrospective | 2.81 | High NLR associated with poorer OS and DFS |
| Demirtaş et al. [32] | Bladder | Retrospective | 2.5 | NLR were not found to be independent predictor of prognosis |
| di Giacomo et al. [33] | Melanoma | Retrospective | — | NLR is a marker of response to chemotherapy |
| Szkandera et al. [34] | Soft tissue sarcoma | Retrospective | 3.45/3.58 | NLR > 3.45 associated with lower TTR NLR > 3.58 associated with lower OS |
| Kobayashi et al. [35] | Renal | Prospective | — | NLR predictor of response after targeted therapy |
| Dimitrascu et al. [36] | Cholangiocarcinoma | Retrospective | 3.3 | NLR > 3.3 associated with lower PFS |
| Yao et al. [37] | NSCLC | Retrospective | 2.63 | NLR > 2.63 associated with lower PFS and OS |
| Keizman et al. [38] | Prostate | Retrospective | 3 | NLR > 3 associated to lower PFS |
| McNally et al. [39] | HCC—TACE | Retrospective | — | Trend towards elevated NLR correlates with survival |
| Jeong et al. [40] | Gastric | Retrospective | 3 | NLR > 3 associated with poorer OS |
| Chua et al. [41] | Epithelial appendicular malignancy | Retrospective | 2.6 | NLR > 2.6 associated with lower PFS and OS |
| Carrhuters et al. [42] | Rectal cancer | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 associate with lower OS, DFS, TTLR |
| Pinato et al. [43] | HCC—TACE | Retrospective | 5 | Persistently high NLR associate with worse survival |
| Chiang et al. [44] | Colorectal | Retrospective | 3 | NLR > 3 correlates with lower DFS |
| Sato et al. [45] | Esophageal | Retrospective | 2.2 | NLR > 2.2 correlates with higher recurrence |
| Chen et al. [46] | HCC—RFTA | Retrospective | 2.4 | Baseline high NLR predictor of poor OS—post procedural high NLR associated with poorer OS/higher risk of recurrence |
| Thavaramara et al. [47] | Ovarian | Retrospective | — | Higher NLR associated with poorer PFS |
| Huang et al. [48] | HCC—chemoembolization | Retrospective | 3.3 | NLR > 3.3 predicts poor survival |
| Chua et al. [49] | Colon | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 correlated with lower OS; NLR normalization associated with higher PFS |
| Rashid et al. [50] | Esophageal | Retrospective | 3.5 | No correlations |
| Halazun et al. [51] | Liver transplantation for HCC | Retrospective | 5 | Elevated NLR significantly increases the risk for tumor recurrence and recipient death |
| Gomez et al. [52] | Intrahepatic cholangicarcinoma | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 correlated with reduced DFS and aggressive tumor profile |
| Shibutani et al. [53] | Colorectal | Retrospective | 2.5 | NLR > 2.5 associated with poorer OS |
| Malik et al. [54] | Colorectal after resection of hepatic metastasis | Retrospective | 5 | NLR > 5 is a negative prognostic factor |
| Lee et al. [55] | Lung | Retrospective | — | A high post treatment NLR is associated with poor prognosis. An early reduction in the NLR after effective treatment may indicate survival improvement in patients with poor prognosis. |
OS: overall survival; DFS: disease free survival; PFS: progression-free survival; CSS: cancer-specific survival; TTR: time to recurrence; TTLR: time to local recurrence.