Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts recurrence of patients with single-nodule small hepatocellular carcinoma following curative resection: a retrospective report

BACKGROUND: Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been identified as a predictor for the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the cut-off of NLR is inconsistent in various studies. Thus, we detected the prognostic value of preoperative NLR in the single-nodule small HCC (SHCC) patients using X-tile for cutpoint. METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2010, a total of 222 single-nodule SHCC patients underwent curative resection and were examined for the prognostic roles of preoperative NLR by X-tile. RESULTS: In this study, all patients were divided into the low-NLR subgroup (NLR ≤ 2.1) and the high-NLR subgroup (NLR > 2.1) by X-tile. Preoperative NLR showed predictive value for time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival (OS). Moreover, NLR was associated with total bilirubin, white blood cell counts, and HBsAg, respectively (P = 0.012, <0.001, and 0.011, respectively). Especially, NLR could discriminate the outcome of patients in the subgroup with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels of ≤400 ng/mL. Importantly, postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) had close relationship with OS (P = 0.001) and TTR (P ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, this study indicates that preoperative NLR, divided by X-tile for the cutpoint, is a simple prognostic marker for the patients with single-nodule SHCC after curative resection.