Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of overall survival and cancer advancement in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has proven to be promising as a prognostic factor in many malignancies. We investigated the prognostic significance of NLR in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the data of 134 consecutive patients with BC who underwent RC between 2011 and 2017 at a single center. Overall survival (OS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between NLR subpopulations using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify the variables affecting OS. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 2.2 years, high NLR (>2.7) correlated with worse a survival outcome (p = 0.0345 in log-rank test), higher tumor stage (p = 0.0047), and higher frequency of positive lymph nodes (p = 0.0285). The univariate model showed that a high NLR (p = 0.038528), advanced pathological tumor stage (p = 0.000763), lymph node involvement (p = 0.013384), a high grade of cancer (p = 0.015611), lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (p = 0.001530), positive margins (p = 0.000890) and ureterocutaneostomy as urinary diversion (p = 0.038854) had a negative impact on OS. Tumor extending beyond the submucosa (>pT1) (hazard ratio 2.161, confidence interval 1058–4411, p = 0.0345) and lymphatic infiltration (hazard ratio 1.599, confidence interval 1028–2482, p = 0.037) have been recognized as independent risk factors of poor prognosis in multivariate Cox regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, an elevated NLR is associated with worse OS and adverse histopathological findings. Consequently, the NLR is an easily acquired biomarker, which may be useful in pretreatment patient risk stratification.