Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29137051›Full record

Observational studyMedicine2017

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and aspartate-to-alanine aminotransferase ratios predict hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis after transarterial embolization.

Chang Liu, Bang-Sheng Jia, Bing-Wen Zou, Hua Du, Lu-Nan Yan, Jia-Yin Yang, Li Jiang, Tian-Fu Wen, Wu-Sheng Lu

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  6. Inflammation and Immune-Based Scores Predict Prognosis for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Pilot Single-Center Study.The Turkish journal of gastroenterology : the official journal of Turkish Society of Gastroenterology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Chang LiuDepartment of Liver Surgery and Liver Transplantation Centre Department of Radiology Division of Thoracic Oncology, Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Bang-Sheng Jia
Bing-Wen Zou
Hua Du
Lu-Nan Yan
Jia-Yin Yang
Li Jiang
Tian-Fu Wen
Wu-Sheng Lu

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) reflects the systematic inflammatory status, and the aspartate aminotransferase-to-alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR) is a biomarker of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. These values can be conveniently obtained from routine blood tests; however, their combined clinical utility has not been extensively studied in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of NLR-AAR in patients with unresectable HCC undergoing TACE. Data for 760 patients with newly diagnosed HCC were retrospectively evaluated. The NLR-AAR was calculated as follows: patients in whom both the NLR and AAR were elevated according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were assigned a score of 2; patients showing an elevation in one or neither of these indicators were assigned a score of 1 or 0, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the clinicopathological variables associated with overall survival. An ROC curve was also generated and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the discriminatory ability of each index at 1, 3, and 5 years of follow-up, as well as overall. The NLR-AAR consistently had a greater AUC value at 1 year (0.669), 3 years (0.667), and 5 years (0.671) post-TACE compared with either NLR or AAR alone. The median survival times of patients with a NLR-AAR of 0, 1, and 2 were 31.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] 24.0-38.0), 15.0 (95% CI 11.2-18.8), and 5.0 (95% CI 4.0-5.9) months, respectively (P < .001). Multivariate analysis showed that the NLR-AAR, elevated total bilirubin level, and vascular invasion were independently associated with overall survival. NLR and AAR, when combined to produce an inflammation-based index and fibrosis score, is an independent marker of poor prognosis in patients with HCC receiving TACE.

Indexed as

Lymphocyte CountAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAlanine TransaminaseAspartate AminotransferasesBiomarkers, TumorCarcinoma, HepatocellularChemoembolization, TherapeuticFemaleHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateLiver NeoplasmsMaleMiddle AgedNeutrophilsAlanine TransaminaseAspartate AminotransferasesBiomarkers, Tumor

Identifiers

PMID29137051
PMCPMC5690744

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.