AUTHOR=Gao Hua , Gao Qing , Sun Jinlan 

TITLE=Significance of Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of Pediatrics: A Multicenter Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2020.00096

DOI=10.3389/fped.2020.00096

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Our goal was to analyze the value of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the prognosis of pediatrics with parotid mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC).</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Patients (≤ 18 years old) undergoing surgical treatment for primary parotid MEC were enrolled from multiple clinical centers retrospectively. The χ<sup>2</sup>-test was used to analyze the associations between clinicopathological variables and the NLR. The main study endpoints were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The prognostic value of NLR was assessed by Kaplan–Meier method and Cox model analysis.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> There were 88 patients included in total, with mean NLR of 2.32 (range, 1.8–6.0). Histologic tumor grade and tumor stage were associated with the NLR significantly. The 10-year RFS rates were 98 and 81% for patients with an NLR &lt; 2.32 and patients with an NLR ≥ 2.32, respectively, the difference was significant (<italic>p</italic> = 0.010). The 10-year DSS rate was 97 and 81% for patients with an NLR &lt; 2.32 and patients with an NLR ≥ 2.32, respectively; the difference was not significant (<italic>p</italic> = 0.072). The independence of NLR in predicting the RFS was further confirmed in Cox model analysis.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The NLR significantly affects the prognosis in pediatrics with primary parotid MEC.</p>