Application of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Factor in Breast Cancer

Objective: To explore whether neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) is an effective prognostic marker in breast cancer.Methods: Clinical data of 388 patients with breast cancer in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 1997 to 2007 were analyzed retrospectively.According to preoperative NLR,the patients were divided into the low NLR group(NLR 4.39,n = 326) and the high NLR group(NLR≥4. 39,n = 62).The 5-year survival rates of two groups of different TNM stage were separately analyzed,univariate analysis was done to assess for a significant difference between clinicalpathological characteristics and overall survival.Results: The 5-year survival rate in the low NLR group and high NLR group was 74.4% and 20.9% respectively(P 0.01),and it was also different according to different TNM stages: stage Ⅰ(95.7% vs 50.0%),stage Ⅱ(86.1% vs 30.8%),stageⅢ(65.6% vs 26.1%),stage Ⅳ(39.3% vs 8.7%).There were significant differences of 5-year survival rate in TNM stages between the high and low NLR groups(all P 0.05).Preoperative NLR≥4.39,tumor size 5 cm,the number of lymph node metastasis 3,ER,PR,and Her2 were all negative were risk factors of poor survival of breast cancer.Conclusion: Preoperative NLR≥4.39 was an independent predictor of poorer overall survival,and NLR may be a prognostic marker in patients with breast cancer.