Objective: An inflammatory-immunological marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), was evaluated as a predictive marker of advanced head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiotherapy.
Methods: This study included 104 patients with treatment-naïve head and neck cancer who underwent definitive chemoradiotherapy. An inflammatory marker was measured at baseline and after 1 month of treatment. Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards model were used to identify predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results: A univariate analysis revealed that T,N-stage, the pre- and posttreatment NLRs were significant predictors of progression after the chemoradiotherapy. However, the posttreatment NLR remained an independent predictor of PFS in the multivariate analysis (HR=2.23, 95% CI 1.15-2.321; P=0.001). A high posttreatment NLR was significantly associated with an increased risk of death (HR=1.87, 95% CI 0.89-3.31; P=0.037).
Conclusion: A high posttreatment NLR is associated with poor prognostic factor. An early reduction in the NLR after treatment may indicate survival improvement in the patients.
Keywords: Chemoradiotherapy; Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas; Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio; Prognosis.
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