RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Preoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Predictor after Curative Resection for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer JF Anticancer Research JO Anticancer Res FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 2995 OP 2998 VO 31 IS 9 A1 MASAKI TOMITA A1 TETSUYA SHIMIZU A1 TAKANORI AYABE A1 AKIHIRO YONEI A1 TOSHIO ONITSUKA YR 2011 UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/31/9/2995.abstract AB Background: The prognostic impact of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was examined using patients with a follow-up period more than 5 years. Patients and Methods: Two hundred and eighty four consecutive resected NSCLC patients were reviewed retrospectively. In this study, patients who were treated with a follow-up period less than 5 years were omitted, Results: The mean value of NLR was 2.44±2.22 (range: 0.56-29.44). The 5-year survival of the patients with a high NLR (≥2.5) was significantly worse than that of the patients with a low NLR (47.06% vs. 67.84%, p<0.0001). Univariate analysis of the clinicopathological factors affecting survival revealed that age, gender, histology, pT status, pN status, high serum CEA level, positive findings of pleural lavage cytology and high NLR were significant risk factors for reduced survival. On multivariate analysis, a high NLR was an independent risk factor for reduced survival. Conclusion: A high preoperative NLR may be a convenient biomarker to identify patients with a poor prognosis after resection for NSCLC.