Cancer Management and Research (Aug 2019)
Significance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in young patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma
Abstract
Baixia Zhang,1 Wei Du,2 Kang Gan,1 Qigen Fang,2 Xu Zhang21Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Head Neck and Thyroid, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of young patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with a focus on the value of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).Materials and methods: Young (≤40 years old) patients with oral SCC were retrospectively enrolled, and each young patient was matched with an old (≥60 years old) oral SCC patient. Associations between the NLR and clinicopathological variables were analyzed by the chi-square test, and the Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyze recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rates.Results: A total of 103 young patients were enrolled, and compared to the old group, the young group had a significantly lower NLR value (p=0.012). In the young group, the 5-year RFS and DSS rates were 82% and 85%, respectively. In the old group, the 5-year RFS and DSS rates were 65% and 71%, respectively, and the differences between the groups were significant (both p<0.05). In the young patients with an NLR≤2.56, the 5-year DSS rate was 93%, while in the young patients with an NLR >2.56, the 5-year DSS rate was 76%. This difference was significant (p=0.020). A further Cox model analysis confirmed that the NLR was an independent prognostic factor for DSS.Conclusion: Young patients with oral SCC have a better prognosis than old oral SCC patients, and the NLR is significantly associated with DSS in young patients.Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma, young patient, head and neck cancer, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, survival analysis