A meta-analysis of the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio on treatment outcomes after radiotherapy for solid tumors

Abstract

Background:To evaluate the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (NLR) as a prognostic factor in predicting treatment outcomes after radiotherapy (RT) for solid tumors.Methods:PubMed and Embase databases were used to search for articles published by February 2019 based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to evaluate the association between NLR levels and treatment outcomes after RT. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) rates. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival, disease-free survival, and disease-specific survival rates.Results:Thirty-eight datasets with a total of 7065 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Patients with high pretreatment NLR demonstrated significantly worse OS with a pooled HR of 1.90 (95% CI 1.66-2.17, P