Correlation between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and pathological response after neoadjuvant treatment for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

XIE Xiaotong; LIU Jingyu; MA Renjie; YAN Mingyue; YANG Yanyan; ZHAN Xianbao; PENG Xiaobo

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1009-0460.2025.02.006

Abstract：Objective To explore the correlation between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)and pathological response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Methods The clinicopathological features of 67 patients accepting neoadjuvant therapy combined with radical surgery for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University were retrospectively analyzed.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to calculate the optimal threshold value of NLR,and evaluate the correlation between NLR and clinicopathological characteristics.According to the tumor regression grade(TRG),patients with TRG 0,TRG 1 and TRG 2 were classified as responders,and patients with TRG 3 were classified as the non-responders.The correlation between NLR and other clinical pathological parameters and the degree of tumor regression was analyzed.The Logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting the pathological response of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant therapy.Results The optimal critical value of NLR obtained by ROC curve was 1.945,and the correlation analysis between NLR and clinicopathologic characteristics showed that there were statistically significant differences in pathological T stage and pathological N stage between the low level of NLR group(＜1.945)and the high level of NLR group(≥1.945).Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in age,pathological T stage,pathological N stage and NLR between the responders and the non-responders(P＜0.05).Multifactor analysis showed that pathological T stage,pathological N stage and NLR were linked to the pathological response after neoadjuvant therapy(P＜0.05).Conclusion NLR after neoadjuvant therapy is a effective marker for predicting pathological response in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.