Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32552873›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2020

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio associated with poor prognosis in oral cancer: a retrospective study.

Takumi Hasegawa, Tomoya Iga, Daisuke Takeda, Rika Amano, Izumi Saito, Yasumasa Kakei, Junya Kusumoto, Akira Kimoto, Akiko Sakakibara, Masaya Akashi

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 4 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

30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Prognostic Significance of the Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology · 2026
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is an independent prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.Journal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology · 2022
    Pooled it
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  13. Prognostic value of changes in pre- and postoperative inflammatory blood markers in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2025
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  16. The Significance of Systemic Inflammatory Markers in Prognosis of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancers.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2024
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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

10 authors.

Takumi HasegawaDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan. hasetaku@med.kobe-u.ac.jp.
Tomoya IgaDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Daisuke TakedaDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Rika AmanoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Izumi SaitoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Yasumasa KakeiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Junya KusumotoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Akira KimotoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Akiko SakakibaraDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.
Masaya AkashiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrognostic biomarkers provide essential information about a patient's overall outcome. However, existing biomarkers are limited in terms of either sample collection, such as requiring tissue specimens, or the process, such as prolonged time for analysis. In view of the need for convenient and non-invasive prognostic biomarkers for oral cancer, we aimed to investigate the prognostic values of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patient survival. We also aimed to explore the associations of these ratios with the clinicopathologic characteristics of Japanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.

methodsThis study was a non-randomized retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral center. We included 433 patients (246 men, 187 women) who underwent radical surgery for oral cancers between January 2001 and December 2013. We evaluated various risk factors for poor prognosis including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio with univariate and multivariate analyses. The disease-specific survival and overall survival rates of patients were compared among the factors and biomarkers.

resultsIn multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis, high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (hazard ratio 2.87, 95% confidence interval 1.59-5.19, P <  0.001), moderately or poorly differentiated histology (hazard ratio 2.37, 95% confidence interval 1.32-4.25, P <  0.001), and extranodal extension (hazard ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.35, P = 0.016) were independent predictors of disease-specific survival. High neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (hazard ratio 2.30, 95% confidence interval 1.42-3.72, P <  0.001), moderately or poorly differentiated (hazard ratio 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.76, P = 0.025), and extranodal extension (hazard ratio 1.79, 95% confidence interval 1.13-2.84, P = 0.013) were independent predictors of overall survival.

conclusionsNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio might be a potential independent prognostic factor in Japanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Indexed as

AgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansJapanLymphocyte CountLymphocytesMaleMiddle AgedMouth NeoplasmsNeutrophilsPrognosisRetrospective StudiesSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckSurvival AnalysisSurvival RateDisease-specific survivalLymphocyte-to-monocyte ratioNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratioOral squamous cell carcinomaOverall survivalPlatelet-to-lymphocyte ratio

Identifiers

PMID32552873
PMCPMC7302163

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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.