Yang et al determined prognosis for patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma using hemogram ratios. Two ratios may correlate with overall survival. The authors are from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
Patient selection: hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus
Outcome: overall survival after liver transplant
Parameters from pretransplant evaluation:
(1) absolute neutrophil count per µL
(2) absolute lymphocyte count per µL
(3) platelet count per µL
neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio = NLR =
= (absolute neutrophil count) / (lymphocyte count)
platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio = PLR =
= (platelet count) / (lymphocyte count)
Interpretation:
• A patient with a NLR <= 3 and PLR <= 100 had a 5-year overall survival of 67% after therapy.
• A patient with NLR > 3 and/or PLR > 100 had a 5-year overall survival of 36% with 7 of 12 patients having a survival less than 20 months..
