Yang Xun, Huang Ying, Feng Ji-Feng, Liu Jin-Shi
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Department of Operating Theatre, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Onco Targets Ther. 2015 Apr 10;8:789-94. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S77099. eCollection 2015.
The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a useful predictive factor in several cancers. However, the prognostic value of NLR in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) is still controversial. Therefore, it was necessary for us to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of NLR in patients with EC.
A systematic literature search was performed by using Web of Science, PubMed Central, and Medline to evaluate the prognostic value of NLR in patients with EC. The deadline of our primary search was July 10, 2014. This meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the association of NLR and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
Six studies involving 1,633 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Our pooled results demonstrated that high NLR was associated with poor OS (HR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.32-1.80, I2=25.3%, P=0.254) and DFS (HR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.25-2.43, I2=63.9%, P=0.096). Subgroup analysis between NLR and OS was performed in a further investigation. When the patients were segregated according to country, sample size, and pathological type, high NLR was also significantly correlated with OS.
High NLR is associated with poor prognosis in patients with EC. NLR may be a significant predictive biomarker in patients with EC.
中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）是多种癌症中一个有用的预测因素。然而，NLR在食管癌（EC）患者中的预后价值仍存在争议。因此，我们有必要进行一项荟萃分析来评估NLR在EC患者中的预后价值。
通过使用Web of Science、PubMed Central和Medline进行系统的文献检索，以评估NLR在EC患者中的预后价值。我们初步检索的截止日期为2014年7月10日。本荟萃分析按照PRISMA指南进行。采用合并风险比（HR）及95%置信区间（CI）来评估NLR与总生存期（OS）和无病生存期（DFS）之间的关联。
我们的荟萃分析纳入了6项涉及1633例患者的研究。我们的合并结果表明，高NLR与较差的OS（HR：1.54，95%CI：1.32 - 1.80，I2 = 25.3%，P = 0.254）和DFS（HR：1.74，95%CI：1.25 - 2.43，I2 = 63.9%，P = 0.096）相关。在进一步的研究中对NLR与OS进行了亚组分析。当根据国家、样本量和病理类型对患者进行分类时，高NLR也与OS显著相关。
高NLR与EC患者的预后不良相关。NLR可能是EC患者的一个重要预测生物标志物。
