Table 1. Baseline Characteristics.
| Characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (N = 496) | Low NLR (N = 444) | High NLR (N = 52) | ||
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 411 (82.9) | 373 (84.0) | 38 (73.1) | .05 |
| Female | 85 (17.1) | 71 (76.0) | 14 (26.9) | |
| Smoker | ||||
| Never | 125 (25.2) | 117 (26.4) | 8 (15.4) | .13 |
| Current | 96 (19.4) | 82 (18.5) | 14 (26.9) | |
| Former | 275 (55.4) | 245 (55.2) | 30 (57.7) | |
| Age, y | ||||
| <65 | 344 (69.4) | 305 (68.7) | 39 (75.0) | .43 |
| ≥65 | 152 (30.6) | 139 (31.3) | 13 (25.0) | |
| Year of radiation | ||||
| 2014 or earlier | 259 (52.2) | 230 (51.8) | 29 (55.8) | .66 |
| 2015 or later | 237 (47.8) | 214 (48.2) | 23 (44.2) | |
| KPS | ||||
| <90 | 135 (27.2) | 107 (24.1) | 28 (53.8) | <.001 |
| 90-100 | 357 (72.0) | 334 (75.2) | 23 (44.2) | |
| Not available | 4 (0.8) | 3 (0.7) | 1 (1.9) | |
| Race | ||||
| White | 432 (87.1) | 387 (87.2) | 45 (86.5) | .83 |
| Othera | 64 (12.9) | 57 (12.8) | 7 (13.5) | |
| Comorbidity | ||||
| 0 | 77 (15.5) | 68 (15.3) | 9 (17.3) | .01 |
| 1 | 109 (22.0) | 97 (21.8) | 12 (23.1) | |
| 2 | 81 (16.3) | 65 (14.6) | 16 (30.8) | |
| 3 | 107 (21.6) | 103 (23.2) | 4 (7.7) | |
| >3 | 122 (24.6) | 111 (25.0) | 11 (21.2) | |
| Site | ||||
| Oropharynx | 276 (55.6) | 239 (53.8) | 27 (51.9) | .51 |
| Larynx | 115 (23.2) | 100 (22.5) | 15 (28.8) | |
| Oral cavity | 12 (2.4) | 10 (2.3) | 2 (3.8) | |
| Other | 93 (18.8) | 85 (19.1) | 8 (15.4) | |
| T staging | ||||
| 1-2 | 255 (51.4) | 241 (54.3) | 14 (26.9) | <.001 |
| 3-4 | 241 (48.6) | 203 (45.7) | 38 (73.1) | |
| N staging | ||||
| 0 | 97 (19.6) | 88 (19.8) | 9 (17.3) | .10 |
| 1 | 52 (10.5) | 46 (10.4) | 6 (11.5) | |
| 2 | 307 (61.9) | 279 (62.8) | 28 (53.8) | |
| 3 | 40 (8.1) | 31 (7.0) | 9 (17.3) | |
| HPV | ||||
| Negative | 92 (18.5) | 77 (17.3) | 15 (28.8) | .04 |
| Positive | 239 (48.2) | 222 (50.0) | 17 (32.7) | |
| Not available | 165 (33.3) | 145 (32.7) | 20 (38.5) | |
| Chemotherapy | ||||
| Cisplatin | 419 (84.5) | 381 (85.8) | 38 (73.1) | .02 |
| Other | 77 (15.5) | 63 (14.2) | 14 (26.9) | |
Abbreviations: HPV, human papillomavirus; KPS, Karnofsky performance status; NLR, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio.
a
The other category for race and ethnicity included African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic, and those who were unknown or declined to answer.