Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio predicts the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

Table 1 Comparison of demographic and clinicopathological data of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma classified by different neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios

Variable	NLR < 3 (n = 105)	3 ≤NLR < 4 (n = 61)	4 ≤NLR < 5 (n = 56)	NLR≥5 (n = 58)	P (2-tailed)
Gender (F/M)	16/89	4/57	7/49	4/54	0.235
Age, yr (mean)	47.0	46.4	45.6	46.8	0.529
Age, yr (≥ 60/< 60)	13/92	5/56	6/50	7/51	0.859
Child-Pugh class (A/B/C)	59/39/7	31/26/4	31/21/4	25/22/11	0.083
BMI (mean)	23.3	22.3	22.2	22.9	0.899
AFP, g/L (< 400/≥ 400)	53/52	30/31	19/37	31/27	0.145
Preoperative adjuvant therapy (Y/N)	47/58	27/34	22/34	31/27	0.492
Tumor ( ≤ 3/> 3), n	90/15	49/12	41/15	39/19	0.0362
Largest tumor size, cm ( ≤ 5/5-9/> 9)	50/32/23	29/17/15	20/19/17	21/14/23	0.168
Total tumor size, cm ( ≤ 5/5-9/> 9)	41/31/33	24/16/21	13/17/26	15/10/33	0.257
Macro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	20/85	13/48	20/36	21/37	0.0282
Micro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	44/61	28/33	33/23	35/23	0.059
Differentiation (1-2/3-4)	44/171	26/141	29/151	32/151	0.866
HBV infection (-/+)	5/100	3/58	1/55	8/50	0.064
Donor (living/deceased)	30/75	13/48	16/40	7/51	0.083

¹Differentiation was reported for 192 patients;

²Significant P value. NLR: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios; BMI: Body mass index; AFP: α-fetoprotein; HBV: Hepatitis B virus.

Table 2 Univariate analysis of the effects of clinicopathological factors on the disease-free survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver transplantation

Variable	χ2	P value	HR	95%CI
Gender (F/M)	0.001	0.973	0.990	0.558-1.759
Age, yr (≥ 60/< 60)	4.573	0.0321	0.477	0.242-0.940
Child-Pugh class (A/B/C)
A	-	-	-	-
B	0.291	0.590	1.106	0.766-1.598
C	0.287	0.592	0.827	0.412-1.658
AFP, g/L ( < 400/≥ 400)	6.673	0.0101	1.600	1.120-2.287
NLR (< 4/≥ 4)	24.251	< 0.0011	2.424	1.704-3.440
Preoperative adjuvant therapy (Y/N)	0.019	0.890	1.025	0.721-1.457
Tumor No. ( ≤ 3/> 3)	23.518	< 0.0011	2.524	1.736-3.670
Largest tumor size, cm
≤ 5	-	-	-	-
5-9	11.105	0.0011	2.195	1.382-3.487
> 9	36.829	< 0.0011	3.894	2.510-6.041
Total tumor size, cm
≤ 5	-	-	-	-
5-9	6.590	0.010	2.123	1.195-3.771
> 9	45.107	< 0.0011	5.553	3.358-9.115
Macro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	33.195	< 0.0011	2.904	2.021-4.174
Micro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	31.135	< 0.0011	2.910	1.999-4.234
Differentiation (1-2/3-4)	3.136	0.077	1.435	0.962-2.140
HBV infection (Y/N)	0.012	0.912	1.048	0.461-2.382
Donor (living/deceased)	0.480	0.488	1.163	0.759-1.780

¹Significant P value. NLR: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios; AFP: α-fetoprotein; HBV: Hepatitis B virus.

Table 3 Multivariate analysis of the effects of clinicopathological factors on the disease-free survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver transplantationpatients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver transplantation

Variable	χ2	P value	HR	95%CI
Age, yr (≥ 60/< 60)	2.731	0.098	0.561	0.283-1.113
AFP, g/L (< 400/≥ 400)	0.397	0.529	1.128	0.776-1.640
NLR (< 4/≥ 4)	9.260	0.0021	1.758	1.222-2.527
Tumor No. ( ≤ 3/> 3)	1.450	0.229	1.301	0.848-1.997
Largest tumor size, > 5 cm	1.761	0.185	1.378	0.858-2.214
Total tumor size, > 9 cm	16.939	< 0.0011	2.725	1.691-3.393
Macro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	11.168	< 0.0011	2.013	1.336-3.035
Micro-vascular invasion (Y/N)	3.085	0.071	1.597	1.001-2.546

¹Significant P value. NLR: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratios; AFP: α-fetoprotein.