Table 1.
Clinical findings associated with peripheral lymphocyte counts.
| Patient Cohort | Disease Stage | Cohort Size | Prognostic/Predictive | Major Observations | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Count | |||||
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 103 | Both | Low PBL associated with short DFS, increased metastization and progression after NAC treatment | [27] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 180 | Predictive | High PBL improves likelihood of pCR after NAC | [28] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 145 | Prognostic | High PBL associated with higher TIL infiltration | [30] |
| Not stratified | All | 305 | Prognostic | High PBL associated with early disease stages and no metastization | [26] |
| >65 years old | All | 69 | Prognostic | High PBL associated with longer DFS at 3 years | [29] |
| HR+ | Primary BC | Unknown | Prognostic | High PBL associated with longer OS and DFS | [30] |
| HER2+ | Primary BC | Unknown | Prognostic | No prognostic association | [30] |
| TNBC | Primary BC | 230 | Prognostic | High PBL associated with longer OS and DFS | [31] |
| Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio | |||||
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 180 | Both | Low NLR improves likelihood of pCR after NAC; high neutrophil count associated with shorter DFS | [28] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 145 | Predictive | Low NLR associated with increased probability of pCR after NAC | [30] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 150 | Both | Low NLR associated with longer DFS and OS, and lower risk of relapse after NAC | [32] |
| Not stratified | All | 316 | Prognostic | High NLR associated with increased short- and long-term mortality | [33] |
| Not stratified | All | 437 | Prognostic | High NLR associated with increased mortality at 5 years | [34] |
| Not stratified | All | 1435 | Prognostic | High NLR associated with higher metastization, HER2 positivity, HR negativity and mortality risk | [35] |
| Not stratified | Metastatic BC | 516 | Prognostic | Low NLR associated with shorter OS | [36] |
| TNBC, >65 years old | All | 25 | Prognostic | Low NLR associated with longer DFS and OS | [29] |
| >65 years old | All | 113 | Predictive | Low NLR associated with increased probability of pCR after NAC | [29] |
| Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio | |||||
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 145 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with longer DFS and OS | [30] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 145 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with higher TIL infiltration | [30] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 150 | Both | High LMR associated with longer DFS and OS and lower risk of relapse after NAC | [32] |
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 542 | Both | High LMR associated with HR positivity, longer DFS and improved response to NAC | [37] |
| Not stratified | Metastatic BC | 516 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with longer OS | [36] |
| >65 years old | All | 69 | Prognostic | No prognostic association | [29] |
| TNBC | Primary BC | 230 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with less advanced disease | [31] |
| TNBC | Primary BC | 230 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with longer DFS and OS | [31] |
| HER2+, TNBC | Metastatic BC | 100; 124 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with longer OS | [36] |
| Luminal | All | 259 | Prognostic | High LMR associated with longer DFS | [38] |
| Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio | |||||
| Not stratified | Primary BC | 145 | Prognostic | No prognostic association | [30] |
| Not stratified | All | 437 | Prognostic | High PLR associated with increased tumor dimension, metastization, 5-years mortality rate and higher NLR, more likely to be HER2+ | [34] |
| Not stratified | All | 1435 | Prognostic | High PLR associated with increased tumor dimension, metastization, 5-years mortality rate and higher NLR, more likely to be HER2+ | [35] |
| Not stratified | Metastatic BC | 516 | Prognostic | Low PLR associated with shorter OS | [36] |
| >65 years old | All | 69 | Prognostic | No prognostic association (multivariate analysis); low PLR associated with longer DFS for TNBC | [29] |
| HER2+ | Metastatic BC | 100 | Prognostic | Low PLR associated with shorter OS | [36] |
| Luminal B, Basal | Primary BC | 251; 70 | Prognostic | High PLR associated with shorter OS and metastization | [39] |
BC: breast cancer; DFS: disease-free survival; HR: hormone receptor; LMR: lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio; NAC: neoadjuvant chemotherapy; NLR: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; OS: overall survival; PBL: peripheral blood lymphocytes; pCR: pathological complete response; PLR: platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; TIL: tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes; TNBC: triple negative breast cancer. “Not stratified” indicates that the observations were made in cohorts that may contain patients of any BC subtype and age.