ReviewOpen medicine (Warsaw, Poland)2026
The predictive value of NLR and PLR for TACE prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Content: We conducted a systematic search on PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, with a deadline of June 15, 2025. The statistical analysis of this study was conducted using R software (version 4.3.1). This meta-analysis was reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The research has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022361556). Summary: A total of 24 studies, involving 9,257 patients, were included. Our study suggested that elevated NLR values were associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR]=1.73; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.42-2.10) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=1.44, 95 % CI: 1.28-1.63) in patients. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the elevated PLR values and patient's OS (HR=1.26, 95 % CI: 0.92-1.73) and PFS (HR=1.86, 95 % CI: 0.45-7.78). Outlook: Our meta-analysis suggested that high NLR before TACE was a predictor of poor OS and PFS prognosis in HCC patients after TACE. However, the prognostic value of PLR was not statistically significant and further prospective studies were needed to validate them.
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