Blood neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio predicts survival after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A propensity score-based analysis

Table 1 Clinicopathological variables in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated by hepatic resection

Variable	Before propensity matching			After propensity matching
	NLR < 2.81	NLR≥2.81	P value	NLR < 2.81	NLR≥2.81	P value
	n = 401	n = 125		n = 111	n = 111
Gender, M/F	358/43	107/18	0.262	94/17	97/14	0.561
Age (yr)	46.8 ± 10.9	47.9 ± 11.5	0.309	46.1 ± 11.6	47.2 ± 11.2	0.487
HbsAg
Negative	50	25	0.041	18	19	0.857
Positive	351	100		93	92
Liver cirrhosis
Yes	338	94	0.023	85	86	0.873
No	63	31		26	25
AFP (ng/mL)
< 400	268	70	0.032	67	67	1.000
≥ 400	133	55		44	44
Edmonson grade
I-II	238	84	0.166	71	71	1.000
III-IV	163	41		40	40
Surgical margin (cm)
< 1	195	51	0.126	48	50	0.787
≥ 1	206	74		63	61
BCLC stage
0 or A	180	69	0.044	53	57	0.591
B or C	221	56		58	54
Child-Pugh class
A	385	117	0.260	105	105	1.000
B	16	8		6	6
Tumor number
Single	293	86	0.363	75	79	0.560
Multiple	108	39		36	32
Tumor size (cm)	6 (4-8)	8 (5.5-12)	< 0.001	7.5 (6-11)	8 (5-12)	0.769
Tumor capsule
Complete	181	40	0.010	33	39	0.390
Incomplete	220	85		78	72
Vascular invasion
Absent	354	98	0.008	91	91	1.000
Present	47	27		20	20
Albumin (g/L)	40.1 ± 4.4	39.8 ± 4.1	0.399	40.3 ± 5.1	39.9 ± 4.2	0.583
Platelet count (109/L)	180.6 ± 76.6	202.1 ± 84.7	0.008	206.5 ± 82.6	200.91 ± 85.73	0.624
AST (U/L)	41 (36-60)	49 (37-67.5)	0.371	47 (31-70)	49 (37-70)	0.138
ALT (U/L)	40 (29-58)	42 (27.5-54)	0.393	37 (26-59)	42 (33-55)	0.400
Total bilirubin (μmol/L)	12 (9-16.8)	14 (9.9-19.5)	0.010	12.3 (9.2-17.4)	14 (9.9-19.4)	0.051

Data are mean ± SD or median (25^th-75^th interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated. AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen; NLR: Blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Table 2 Multivariate analysis to identify factors predicting poor overall survival and disease-free survival in Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

Factor	HR	95%CI	P value
Disease-free survival
AFP > 400 ng/mL	1.493	1.062-2.100	< 0.001
Multiple tumors	1.766	1.385-2.252	< 0.001
Tumor size ≥ 5 cm	1.313	1.018-1.693	0.036
Vascular invasion	2.656	1.962-3.594	< 0.001
NLR ≥ 2.81	1.610	1.250-2.075	< 0.001
Overall survival outcome
Multiple tumors	1.649	1.257-2.16	< 0.001
Tumor size ≥ 5 cm	1.912	1.407-2.59	< 0.001
Incomplete tumor capsule	1.480	1.139-1.92	0.003
Vascular invasion	2.239	1.496-3.350	< 0.001
NLR ≥ 2.81	1.333	1.007-1.76	0.044

Calculated over all patients in the study (n = 526). AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.