09 Mar High Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Linked To Poor Prognosis in Early Breast Cancer
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Michele Orditura
Michele Orditura MD, PhD
Associate Professor in Medical Oncology
Faculty of Medicine, Second University of Naples
Naples Italy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Prof. Orditura: In the last few years increasing evidence suggests that cancer-related inflammatory response plays a crucial role in the development and progression of several malignancies. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), calculated as the neutrophil count divided by the lymphocyte count , may represent an easily measurable and inexpensive marker of systemic inflammation.
Several studies have reported NLR as an unfavourable prognostic indicator for patients with gastrointestinal, lung, renal and gynaecological cancers. In the breast cancer setting, the results of published trials evaluating the relationship between NLR and outcome are controversial, and a recent meta-analysis including eight trials published between 2012 and 2014 has shown that elevated NLR is strongly associated with poor survival. In addition, the available data mainly concern women of Asian race and only three papers have included patients of Europe race.
The main aim of this study was to clarify the correlation between pre surgery NLR and distant metastasis-free survival in a series of 300 Italian patients with early breast cancer. The propensity score-matched analysis was chosen for statistical evaluation to avoid risk of confounding bias.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Prof. Orditura: Our study shows a significant correlation between high NLR and worse prognosis of patients with early breast cancer by means of propensity score-matched analysis.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Prof. Orditura: NLR assessment in clinical practice for prediction of cancer recurrence seems to be an easy and non-expensive test, and particularly in breast cancer it could contribute to guide decision-making for adjuvant therapy.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Prof. Orditura: We would strongly recommend prospective trials with a large sample size to validate our findings.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Prof. Orditura: I would sincerely thank all our patients and their family for their contributions in our daily practice and clinical researches
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Michele Orditura, Gennaro Galizia, Anna Diana, Ciro Saccone, Luigi Cobellis, Jole Ventriglia, Francesco Iovino, Ciro Romano, Floriana Morgillo, Lavinia Mosca, Maria Rosaria Diadema, Eva Lieto, Eugenio Procaccini, Ferdinando De Vita, Fortunato Ciardiello. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for prediction of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in early breast cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis. ESMO Open, March 2016 DOI: 10.1136/esmoopen-2016-000038
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Dr. Michele Orditura (2016). High Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Linked To Poor Prognosis in Early Breast Cancer
Last Updated on March 9, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD