ArticleScientific reports2019
Exploring the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in cancer.
Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 188 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
188 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Significance of serum biomarkers in preterm infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Eye (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in retinal artery occlusion: a meta-analysis.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Pooled it
- The role of nutritional and inflammatory markers in predicting postoperative complications after esophagectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: mechanisms, clinical applications, and future perspectives.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Blood-based biomarkers of frailty in solid tumors: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Association between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer: A meta-analysis.Medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Prognostic Significance of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Salivary Gland Neoplasms: A Systematic Review.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialePooled it
- Neoadjuvant PD1 plus CTLA-4 immune checkpoint blockade in surgically resectable recurrent glioblastoma: a randomized surgical window-of-opportunity trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Evaluation of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients With Recurrent and/or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With a Combination of Cetuximab and Nivolumab in a Phase II Clinical Trial.American journal of clinical oncology · 2026Trial
- Treatment-related lymphopenia predicts long-term survival in locally advanced head and neck cancer:Frontiers in immunology · 2026Trial
- Neutrophils in cancer.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2026Review
- Cancer risk and mortality assessment in the overweight population: evaluation of single and integrated models based on inflammatory markers.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Article
- Automated Computational Flow Cytometry Correlates Decreasing Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio to Improved Survival in NSCLC after Immune Checkpoint Blockade.Cancer immunology research · 2026Article
- Systemic Inflammation, Tumor Isotopic Signatures, and Prognosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Exploratory Integration of Blood- and Tissue-Derived Biomarkers-An Exploratory Retrospective Secondary Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Assessment of Muscle Function Decline and Cachexia-Related Biomarkers in Hospitalized Oncology Patients: Study Protocol.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Search for prognostic markers of mortality in inpatients receiving palliative chemotherapy.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Observational
- Tumor-Derived Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Promotes Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer Through the Neutrophil Extracellular Traps-CCDC25 Pathway.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and MUST-Defined Nutritional Risk as Independent Correlates of Domain-Specific Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a potential risk marker for febrile neutropenia (FN) in breast and ovarian cancer during first-cycle chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in acute decompensation of advanced chronic liver disease and acute-on-chronic liver failure: prognostic significance by etiology.Clinical and experimental hepatology · 2026Article
128 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In cancer patients, a high pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with poorer survival outcomes. Significant variation in the magnitude of this association has been observed between studies, but sources of this variation are poorly understood. Here, we explore differences in the prognostic potential of NLR between patient subgroups stratified by demographic and clinical characteristics using a retrospective cohort of 5,363 patients treated at Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, FL). We identify patients for whom NLR has maximum prognostic potential via adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) calculated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and area under the curve analysis. NLR demonstrates stronger associations (HRs > 2) with survival among African-American patients, patients receiving radiation therapy, stage IV patients, and melanoma patients when compared with the overall study population (HR = 1.58). Sensitivity and specificity of NLR as a prognostic marker are also higher in these patient subgroups, and increase further with combinations of multiple "high-risk" demographic or clinical characteristics. In summary, NLR may have greater prognostic value in patients with certain demographic and clinical features. Future prospective studies could validate this hypothesis, after further characterization of populations in which NLR has maximum prognostic potential and the identification of meaningful thresholds for risk stratification.
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