Increased neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with disease-specific mortality in patients with penile cancer

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a simple marker of the systemic inflammatory response, has been demonstrated to correlate with patient outcomes for various solid malignancies. We investigated the utility of the pretreatment NLR as a prognosticator in patients who presented with penile cancer.

A total of 41 patients who underwent complete blood count with differential and subsequent radical penectomy from 1988 to 2014 were analyzed. We assessed the correlation between the NLR and the prognosis of penile cancer.

The median and mean (± SD) NLRs in 41 penile cancer patients were 3.42 and 5.03 ± 4.99, respectively. Based on the area under receiver operator characteristic curve, the cut-off value of NLR was determined to be 2.82. Patients with a high NLR (≥2.82) showed a significantly poorer cancer-specific survival (p = 0.023) than those with a low NLR.

The pretreatment NLR may function as a biomarker that precisely predicts the prognosis in patients with penile cancer.

BMC cancer. 2016 Jul 07*** epublish ***

Jun Kasuga, Takashi Kawahara, Daiji Takamoto, Sachi Fukui, Takashi Tokita, Tomoyuki Tadenuma, Masaki Narahara, Syusei Fusayasu, Hideyuki Terao, Koji Izumi, Hiroki Ito, Yusuke Hattori, Jun-Ichi Teranishi, Takeshi Sasaki, Kazuhide Makiyama, Yasuhide Miyoshi, Masahiro Yao, Yasushi Yumura, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Hiroji Uemura

Department of Urology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2360004, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2360004, Japan. ., Department of Urology, Yokohama Minami Kyosai Hospital, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama Minato Red Cross Hospital, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan., Department of Urology, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, International Goodwill Hospital, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, Yamato Municipal Hospital, Yamato, Japan., Department of Urology, Fujisawa City Hospital, Fujisawa, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama Municipal Citizen's Hospital, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2360004, Japan., Departments of Urology and Renal transplantation, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan., Departments of Urology and Renal transplantation, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Pathology, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2360004, Japan., Departments of Urology and Renal transplantation, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 2360004, Japan., Departments of Urology and Renal transplantation, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan., Departments of Pathology and Urology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA., Departments of Urology and Renal transplantation, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan.