Preoperative inflammatory markers of NLR and PLR as indicators of poor prognosis in resectable HCC

Dong Wang; Ning Bai; Xi Hu; Xi Wu OuYang; Lei Yao; YiMing Tao; ZhiMing Wang

doi:10.7717/peerj.7132

Preoperative inflammatory markers of NLR and PLR as indicators of poor prognosis in resectable HCC

PeerJ. 2019 Oct 14:7:e7132. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7132. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Dong Wang¹, Ning Bai², Xi Hu¹, Xi Wu OuYang¹, Lei Yao¹, YiMing Tao¹, ZhiMing Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.
² Department of Emergency, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China.

Abstract

Background: Many recent studies have demonstrated the predominant role chronic inflammation plays in cancer cell propagation, angiogenesis and immunosuppression. Cancer-related inflammation (CRI) has been shown to correlate with poor cancer prognosis. Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have undergone liver resection.

Methods: Between 2012 and 2015, 239 patients with HCC who had undergone liver resection at XiangYa Hospital Central South University were included in this study. The values of simple inflammatory markers, including the NLR and PLR, used in predicting the long-term outcomes of these patients were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models.

Results: The cutoff values of the NLR and PLR were 2.92 and 128.1, respectively. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high NLR (≥2.92) and high PLR (≥128.1) were independent risk factors predicting poorer outcomes in patients with HCC. However, high NLR and high PLR were prognostic factors in tumor size and tumor number.

Conclusions: In this study, we identified that high NLR (≥2.92) and high PLR (≥128.1) are useful prognostic factors in predicting outcomes in patients with HCC whom underwent liver resection.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Inflammatory; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 81372631, 81372630). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.