Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and its dynamic change during neoadjuvant chemotherapy as poor prognostic factors in advanced ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic implications of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and its dynamic change during chemotherapy in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 203 patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to interval debulking surgery for advanced-stage ovarian cancer at Yonsei Cancer Hospital between 2007 and 2015. Pretreatment NLR was evaluated before starting neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Change in NLR was defined as the post-neoadjuvant NLR value divided by the initial value. The correlation of NLR and its dynamic change with chemotherapy response score, response rate, and recurrence was analyzed. RESULTS: The NLR ranged from 0.64 to 22.8. In univariate analyses, a higher pretreatment NLR (>3.81) was associated with poor overall survival (OS), but not progression-free survival (PFS). Through multivariate analysis, high pretreatment NLR was shown to be an independent parameter affecting OS, but not necessarily PFS. Changes in NLR during chemotherapy were better predictors of PFS than baseline NLR. Patients with increased NLR during chemotherapy showed significantly poor PFS, and this change was an independent predictor of PFS. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment NLR and its dynamic change during chemotherapy may be important prognostic factors in patients who undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy.