Open AccessPrognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in melanoma
Author(s) -
Yongsheng Ding,
Shan Zhang,
Jianjun Qiao
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1536-5964
pISSN - 0025-7974
DOI - 10.1097/md.0000000000011446
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , confidence interval , meta analysis , neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio , subgroup analysis , oncology , melanoma , lymphocyte , cancer research
Background: A number of studies have investigated the prognostic impact of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with melanoma but the results were controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the prognostic value of NLR in melanoma. Methods: The databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were thoroughly searched. Associations between NLR and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were investigated by pooling hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 12 studies comprising 3207 patients were finally included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that a high NLR was associated with poor OS (HR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.64–3.04, P < .001, random-effects model) and PFS (HR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.78–2.69, P < .001, fixed-effects model). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that NLR was still associated with poor OS and PFS for patients in Western countries who were treated with ipilimumab. No significant publication bias was found in this meta-analysis. Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrated that a high NLR was predictive of poor OS and PFS in patients with melanoma.