Prognostic Evaluation of Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Mycosis Fungoides

BACKGROUND: The role of inflammation has been established in cancer biology and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio postulated as a marker of systemic inflammatory response. The prognostic significance of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio has never been explored in patients with mycosis fungoides. METHODS: Data from 119 mycosis fungoides (MF) patients, diagnosed between 1998 and 2015 at a single centre, were evaluated retrospectively. The prognostic influence of the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and other clinico-pathological factors including age, lactate dehydrogenase, stage of disease, beta-2-microglobulin levels, and total IgE levels were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean value of absolute neutrophil count and absolute lymphocyte count (ANC/ALC) ratio was 2.07±1.17 in the patient group, whereas it was 1.76±0.53 in the control group (P<0.05). An ANC/ALC value of 2.85 corresponded to the maximum combined sensitivity and specificity on the ROC curve. ANC/ALC ratios of 2.85 or higher at diagnosis were positively correlated with elevated Beta-2-microglobulin (P=0.026), advanced disease stage, and disease progression (P=0.026, r=0.204) (P=0 .006, r=0.251) (P=0 .018, r=0.216). CONCLUSION: In the present study, we showed that a high ANC/ALC ratio at diagnosis of MF represents a simple, poor prognostic factor for identifying high-risk patients with MF.