Measuring immune system cells could help predict the risk of recurrence of breast cancer for women with early stage disease, according to findings published today.
Researchers looked at the ratio between neutrophils and lymphocytes, the NLR.
They found that a high ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes indicated a high risk of recurrence compared with a low ratio.
The findings, reported in the journal ESMO Open, come from an observational study conducted by Professor Michele Orditura, of the Second University of Naples School of Medicine, Italy.
They come from a study of some 300 women of European ancestry, tracked for up to 15 years after being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Most of the women were over the age of 35.
The study showed that 82.7% of women with low NLRs were free of disease recurrence after 15 years. This compared with 51.4% of those with high NLRs.
Journal editor Professor Christoph Zielinski, said: “It is inspirational to see the results of this study showing that there may be a potential new way to support women with early breast cancer.
"We hope that it will encourage more researchers active in this area to establish collaborations around the world with a view to confirming these findings.”
Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for prediction of distant metastasis-free survival (DFMS) in early stage breast cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis ESMO Open 8 March 2016; doi 10.1136/esmoopen-2016-000038 [abstract]
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