鼻咽癌同步放化疗前后炎性指标变化及预测价值

目的 探讨局部晚期鼻咽癌同步放化疗前后外周血中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比(NLR)和血小板与淋巴细胞比(PLR)的变化及对鼻咽癌复发的预测作用。 方法 回顾性分析初诊为局部晚期鼻咽癌并行同步放化疗229例患者病历资料,记录同步放化疗前后患者的中性粒细胞、血小板和淋巴细胞值,计算相应的NLR和PLR、ΔNLR和ΔPLR,使用受试者工作特征曲线(ROC),确定NLR和PLR、ΔNLR和ΔPLR的最佳临界值,并根据最佳临界值将ΔNLR和ΔPLR分别分为高低水平两组;使用Cox风险模型分析和Kaplan-Meier分析确定肿瘤复发的独立危险因素以及ΔNLR和ΔPLR对生存的影响。 结果 以肿瘤复发为结果,NLR和PLR、ΔNLR和ΔPLR的ROC曲线下面积(AUC)分别为0.680、0.678、0.854和0.730, 最佳临界值分别为2.730、135.550、4.982和122.553;单因素分析显示:T分期、N分期、临床分期、诱导/辅助化疗史NLR、PLR、ΔNLR、ΔPLR为鼻咽癌复发的相关因素,进一步行多因素分析提示T分期、N分期、ΔNLR、ΔPLR是鼻咽癌复发的独立危险因素;生存分析显示,ΔHNLR和ΔHPLR组的2年无复发生存率均低于ΔLNLR和ΔLPLR组(ΔHNLR vs. ΔLNLR=0.488 vs. 0.993;ΔHPLR vs. ΔLPLR=0.476 vs. 0.935),ΔHNLR和ΔHPLR组的中位无复发生存时间均为23个月。 结论 局部晚期鼻咽癌患者的NLR和PLR总体水平在同步放化疗后有所增加,治疗前后NLR和PLR差值越大肿瘤预后越差,且ΔNLR和ΔPLR可作为肿瘤复发的预测指标。     

血小板与淋巴细胞比值对喉癌复发的预测价值

探讨术前外周血血小板与淋巴细胞比值(PLR)、中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）、衍生中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（dNLR）对喉鳞状细胞癌患者复发的影响和预测价值。     

外周血中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值以及血小板与淋巴细胞比值评估声门型喉癌患者预后的价值

目的 探讨外周血中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）和血小板与淋巴细胞比值（PLR）与声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者预后的关系。方法 收集115例有明确病理诊断的声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者的临床病理及随访资料,通过建立受试者工作特征曲线（ROC曲线）,确定术前外周血NLR及PLR预测术后生存的最佳截点,以此将患者分为低NLR和高NLR组以及低PLR和高PLR组,分析NLR及PLR与患者的临床病理特征之间的关系,并通过单因素及多因素分析评估术前外周血NLR及PLR对患者术后生存的影响。结果 115例患者中获得随访107例,失访8例,随访率为93.0%。随访患者中27例死于喉鳞状细胞癌,80例生存。根据ROC曲线计算出PLR、NLR的临界值分别为139.79和2.83。107例声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者的5年生存率为74.8%,其中低PLR组患者的5年生存率为82.7%;高PLR组患者的5年生存率为56.3%,差异具有统计学意义（P=0.004）。低NLR组患者的5年生存率为81.8%;高NLR组患者的5年生存率为56.7%,差异具有统计学意义（P=0.003）。单因素分析显示,声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者的预后与患者的T分期、有无淋巴结转移、NLR水平和PLR水平有关（P均<0.05）。多因素分析显示,PLR水平以及NLR水平为影响声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者预后的独立因素（P均<0.05）。结论 PLR和NLR可能是影响声门型喉鳞状细胞癌患者预后的独立因素。     

喉癌患者术前中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值与淋巴结转移的相关性研究

目的 研究探讨喉癌患者术前中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值(NLR)与淋巴结转移的关系。 方法 选取2008年1月至2017年12月广西医科大学附属肿瘤医院收治的102例喉癌患者,以术前NLR为因变量对喉癌临床病理分期及淋巴结检测结果进行分析。 结果 术前NLR>2.2患者的转移度和转移率高于NLR≤2.2的患者(P<0.001);术前NLR>2.2组的患者中,淋巴结分期(N+)>N0者多于术前NLR≤2.2组(P<0.001)。肿瘤早期(T1,T2)患者的NLR均值较局晚期(T3,T4)的低,后者的淋巴结转移率和转移度较高(P<0.001);临床Ⅳ期患者NLR的均值、淋巴结转移率和转移度明显较Ⅲ期的高(P<0.05)。声门上型、声门型的患者中,术前NLR>2.2组的淋巴结转移率及转移度高于NLR≤2.2组(P<0.05);声门下型的患者中,淋巴结转移率差异比较无统计学意义(P>0.05),而淋巴结转移度差异比较有统计学意义(P<0.05)。 结论 喉癌患者术前NLR的高低与淋巴结转移之间有相关性,能在一定程度上反映淋巴结转移的程度,可为临床治疗提供有价值的参考依据。     

NLR、LMR、PLR预测慢性鼻窦炎鼻内镜术后复发价值

目的 探讨中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值(NLR)、淋巴细胞与单核细胞比值(LMR)、血小板与淋巴细胞比值(PLR)预测慢性鼻窦炎鼻内镜术后复发价值。 方法 选取2016年3月至2018年3月收治的慢性鼻窦炎鼻内镜治疗患者60例。所有患者均术后随访6个月,并根据鼻窦炎是否复发分为术后复发组(n=21)和术后未复发组(n=39)。同期选取87例健康体检者作为对照组(n=87)。收集并分析所有患者NLR、LMR、PLR数值,并绘制上述指标受试者工作特征曲线(ROC)。 结果 CRS组NLR、PLR水平高于对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);CRS组LMR水平低于对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01);术后未复发组NLR、LMR、PLR水平与对照组差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);术后复发组NLR、PLR水平高于术后未复发组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);术后复发组LMR水平低于术后未复发组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01);NLR的敏感度、特异度分别为63.33%(19/30)、93.33%(28/30);LMR的敏感度、特异度分别为72.00%(18/25)、91.43%(32/35);PLR的敏感度、特异度分别为67.86%(19/28)、93.75%(30/32);ROC曲线显示:NLR、LMR、PLR曲线下面积分别为0.719(0.587~0.851)、0.922(0.853~0.991)、0.830(0.587~0.851)。 结论 NLR、LMR、PLR能较好地预测慢性鼻窦炎鼻内镜术后复发情况。     

结合术前中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值、血小板与淋巴细胞比值构建喉恶性肿瘤进展风险的列线图模型CSCD

目的探究术前血小板与淋巴细胞比值(platelet-lymphocyte ratio,PLR)及中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值(neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio,NLR)在预测喉癌恶性肿瘤程度的价值并构建列线图模型进行验证。方法回顾性分析2016年1月~2022年6月在宁波市医疗中心李惠利医院接受喉部手术的339例患者临床、组织病理学和实验室资料,分为喉部良性病变组(n=113)、喉部癌前病变组(n=105)和喉恶性肿瘤(n=121)组,研究三组患者通过单因素分析和多因素Logistic回归分析研究喉部恶性病变的相关影响因素,采用R软件构建预测喉癌恶性肿瘤进展风险的列线图模型并进行内部验证。结果单因素分析显示年龄>60岁、吸烟、高PLR及高NLR与喉部病变程度有关(P<0.05)。多因素Logistic回归分析显示年龄>60岁、吸烟、高PLR及高NLR是喉部恶性病变的独立影响因素(P<0.05)。列线图模型C-index=0.809,95%CI=0.733、0.885,P<0.05,该列线图模型具有很强的预测能力。结论术前NLR、PLR、血小板分布宽度(PDW)是影响喉部恶性病变的因素,其中NLR高水平、PLR高水平在用于构建预测喉恶性肿瘤进展的列线图模型上准确性较强,有效的运用此模型可助于临床医师通过预测喉恶性肿瘤趋势为患者提供及时有效的用于早期筛查和疾病诊断的个性化方案。     

鼻腔鼻窦内翻性乳头状瘤与外周血炎症标志物的相关性研究

目的探讨鼻腔鼻窦内翻性乳头状瘤(SNIP)与外周血液炎症标志物的相关性。方法回顾分析2019年2月至2021年3月于河南省人民医院耳鼻咽喉科接受鼻窦内镜手术,经组织病理学诊断为鼻腔鼻窦内翻性乳头状瘤的62例患者作为实验组。选取同期62例健康体检者作为对照组。对两组的临床资料进行回顾性分析,对比分析两组术前外周血细胞成分计数及中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值(NLR),血小板/淋巴细胞比值(PLR)等之间的差异。将实验组根据是否复发、癌变进一步分为SNIP组(38例),复发组(14例)及癌变组(10例),分别进行多重比较分析。结果实验组与对照组的外周血中性粒细胞(P<0.001)、嗜酸性粒细胞计数(P<0.001),中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞计数比(NLR)(P=0.016),血小板/淋巴细胞计数比(PLR)(P=0.005)差异有统计学意义。建立Logistic回归分析模型发现,NLR的增加(P<0.001)、PLR的减少(P=0.002)以及嗜酸性粒细胞计数的增加(P=0.013)差异有统计学意义。实验组进一步多重比较分析,嗜碱性粒细胞计数在三组间总体差异有统计学意义,其中SNIP和复发组(P=0.045),癌变和复发组(P=0.017)在嗜碱性粒细胞计数比较差异有统计学意义。结论外周血嗜酸性粒细胞、中性粒细胞计数及NLR、PLR与SNIP具有相关性,并且可能成为SNIP的外周血液炎症标志物,NLR的增加、PLR的减少以及嗜酸性粒细胞计数的增加可能是SNIP的危险因素。     

鼻咽癌患者系统性免疫-炎症反应指标特征观察

目的 探索鼻咽癌患者及其健康者不同临床分期系统性免疫-炎症反应指标特征。方法 在鼻咽癌高发地区广东省中山市分析287例鼻咽癌患者、1497例健康对照组的系统性免疫-炎症反应指标，包括：中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值（NLR）、血小板/淋巴细胞比值（PLR）、淋巴细胞/单核细胞比值（LMR），血小板*中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值（SII），采用SPSS(26.0)软件进行统计分析。结果 鼻咽癌患者外周血NLR、PLR、SII明显高于健康对照者，差异具有极显著统计学意义（P<0.0001），鼻咽癌患者外周血LMR明显低于健康对照者，差异具有极显著统计学意义（P<0.0001）;NLR、PLR、SII、LMR在鼻咽癌临床TNM分期、T分期、N分期、M分期及病理分型中差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论 系统性免疫-炎症反应指标NLR、PLR、SII在鼻咽癌中存在升高表现，LMR存在降低表现，在鼻咽癌分期中的差异无统计学意义。     

外周血中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比率及血小板与淋巴细胞比率对喉鳞状细胞癌预后价值的研究进展

喉鳞状细胞癌（LSCC）是头颈鳞状细胞癌最常见类型之一,由多种致癌因素共同影响所致且预后欠佳。LSCC预后因素包括个体状况、原发肿瘤大小、淋巴结受累情况、有无远处转移和人乳头状瘤病毒（HPV）感染等,均不能准确评估LSCC预后,因此,探寻新的指标显得尤为重要。在肿瘤的发生、发展、转移过程中,炎症因子起到了至关重要的作用,其中外周血中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比率（NLR）、血小板/淋巴细胞比率（PLR）对LSCC预后价值较高且备受关注,因此本文将探讨NLR、PLR与LSCC预后价值的关系,为临床诊疗提供参考。     

鼻咽癌放疗后远期吞咽功能的纤维喉镜评估

目的 探讨纤维喉镜吞咽检查在鼻咽癌放疗后长期存活患者吞咽功能评估的应用价值。 方法 通过对107例鼻咽癌放疗后长期存活的患者进行纤维喉镜检查,应用咽期残留量表及食物渗透及误吸量表评估咽期残留、渗透及误吸情况。 结果 107例患者均完成纤维喉镜吞咽评估,鼻咽癌放疗后随诊时间为5~14年,平均(8.78±2.91)年,声门内收反射减弱或消失22例(20.56%),鼻咽反流及关闭不全23例(21.49%),声带活动减弱或声带麻痹50例(46.72%)。53.06%患者存在对于粥样食物严重梨状窝残留,而45.79%患者对水以及29.90%患者对粥样食物存在误吸。 结论 通过对鼻咽癌放疗后长期存活患者进行纤维喉镜吞咽评估,较多患者存在严重吞咽障碍,其中粥样食物残留及水样食物误吸较常见。     

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a non-endemic country—Validation of the new NPC staging system

BackgroundNasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) staging has recently been updated, with the eighth edition of the AJCC/UICC. In the last ten years, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) has become a standard treatment for NPC. The authors aim to assess the benefits of the new AJCC staging system in predicting prognosis, as well as the improvement in survival outcomes in the IMRT era, in non-edemic population.MethodsRetrospective study selecting patients treated for NPC between January 2009 and December 2019 in a cancer treatment center in Portugal. Initial TNM staging (according to the seventh edition of the AJCC/UICC) was collected and each patient was restaged according to the new TNM staging system. Overall survival (OS) and Distant Metastasis Free Survival (DMFS) stratified by T and N classification and stage (according to the both TNM staging systems) were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate which factors influence OS and DMFS. Data in this series was compared with a previous report from the same institution, before IMRT standard use.Results113 patients were included, averaging 53.74 (±1.4) years old. With the new TNM staging, 5 patients were downstaged and 3 patients were upstaged. Over a median follow-up time of 41 months, the 5-year OS and DMFS were 77% and 79.8%, respectively. Neither the seventh nor the eighth editions of the AJCC/UICC staging system had good overall discrimination between each T classification OS and DMFS curves. Both the seventh and the eighth editions of the AJCC/UICC staging system had statistically significant overall discrimination between each N group and each stage group classification OS curves. Only N classification predicted OS in multivariate analysis. When comparing to a previous report from the same institution, OS has not improved majorly, especially in locoregionally advanced disease.ConclusionsTNM staging still presents limitations in adequately predicting OS and DMFS.     

Preliminary results of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy: a retrospective study of 364 patients

The aim of the study was to evaluate the survival and toxicity of 364 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Cisplatin-based chemotherapy was given to patients with local–regionally advanced disease. The median follow-up was 26 months (range 3–62 months). The 2-year local failure-free survival, regional failure-free survival (RFFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were 97.6, 96.8, 89.1 and 93.5 %, respectively. Overall disease failures (at any site) were found in 60 patients. Eighteen patients experienced locoregional failures: seven were local only, seven were regional only and four were both local and regional. Forty-two patients developed distant metastases. Of these, 30 patients had single organ metastasis and 12 had multiple organ metastases. The most common acute toxicities were dermatitis, mucositis and xerostomia. Grade 0–2 dermatitis, mucositis and xerostomia occurred in 337 patients (92.6 %), 204 patients (56.1 %) and 364 patients (100 %), respectively. Grade 3 dermatitis, mucositis and xerostomia were seen in 27 patients (7.4 %), 160 patients (44 %) and 0 patients. No Grade 4 acute toxicities were observed. N stage was an independent prognostic factor for RFFS, DMFS and OS. Our preliminary results showed that IMRT provides excellent local–regional control for NPC, with acceptable acute toxicities. Distant metastasis remains the most difficult treatment challenge. More effective systemic chemotherapy should be explored.     

Pretreatment lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio as an independent prognostic factor for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: The aim of this work was to analyze the clinical characteristics and pretreatment peripheral blood cell counts of patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) and determine their relationship with clinical outcomes.

Methods: One hundred ninety-seven patients were eligible for the study. The relationship between survival and pretreatment peripheral absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), absolute monocyte count (AMC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, t-test, and univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results: The median follow-up time was 30.95 months (range 1–82 months). The 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) rates for all patients were 40.8, 51.0, and 48.1%, respectively. The ANC, AMC, NLR, and LMR were significantly associated with tumor stage and clinical stage (p?p?=?.035, .047, and .045, respectively).

Conclusion: The pretreatment LMR should be considered as an independent prognostic factor for patients with HPSCC.     

The prognostic value of preoperative derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing total laryngectomy with laryngeal carcinoma

Background: Emerging evidence indicate that inflammation plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Inflammatory response biomarkers are recognized as promising prognostic factors in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) in patients with total laryngectomy.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 137 patients with LSCC who received total laryngectomy from January 2009 to December 2015. The preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and dNLR were calculated. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off values of these parameters. Univariate analysis and multivariate Cox regression model were used to evaluate the association between these parameters and recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results: The optimal critical value of dNLR was 1.85, by which cases were divided into high dNLR group (dNLR ≥ 1.85) and low dNLR group (dNLR?<?1.85). The elevated dNLR was significantly associated with decreased RFS (HR 2.72, 95% CI 1.56–4.75, p?=?.000) and remained significant in multivariate analysis (p?=?.034). However, we did not find any significant correlation between dNLR and OS.

Conclusions: An elevated preoperative dNLR may be an independent prognostic biomarker for RFS in patients undergoing total laryngectomy with LSCC.     

A prognostic nomogram incorporating tumor size and lymph node size for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

PurposeThe goal of this study was to establish a nomogram that included pre-treatment tumor size and lymph node (LN) size to assess personalized overall survival (OS) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Patients and methodsThe Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results dataset was used to extract statistics for 1083 individuals with NPC (training cohort). In the validation cohort, 266 patients were included from the Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute of Guangzhou Medical University. Age, tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) stage, pre-treatment tumor size, and LN size were chosen in both the training and validation sets to build a nomogram to forecast the 3-year and 5-year OS probability using the multivariate Cox regression model. Using the C-index, calibration plot, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the predictive model's predictive value and discriminative capacity were determined.ResultsPre-treatment tumor size, LN size, age, and TNM stage were all independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. After combining these characteristics, a nomogram with a C-index of 0.7367 in the training cohort and 0.795 in the validation cohort was created, suggesting strong predictive capacity. Analysis of the ROC curve revealed that the constructed nomogram was clinically applicable.ConclusionsIn patients with NPC, the developed nomogram, which includes pre-treatment tumor size, LN size, age, and TNM stage, is a reliable predictive predictor of OS.     

Survival analysis of laryngeal carcinoma without laryngectomy, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy

This study aimed at investigating the survival rate and prognostic factors of laryngeal carcinoma patients in the absence of the use of laryngectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. A total of 167 cases of laryngeal carcinoma without the use of laryngectomy, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy were analyzed retrospectively. Surveyed items included age, smoking history, tumor family history, tuberculosis history, primary site, pathological grade, T-stage, N-stage, clinical stage, and whether tracheotomy had been performed. Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. For univariate analysis, comparison among/between groups was performed using the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was carried out using the Cox proportional hazard model. Overall median survival time was 16?±?1.44?months, and overall 1- and 2-year survival rates were 56.4 and 26.5%, respectively. No patient survived over 5?years in cases diagnosed for more than 5?years (except for cases that were lost). The median survival time of clinical stage 0/I/II was 28?±?3.81?months, and 1- and 2-year survival rates were 79.3 and 59.3%, respectively; the median survival time of III/IV clinical stages was 11?±?1.32?months, and 1- and 2-year survival rates were 45.5 and 10.6%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that primary site, pathological grade, T-stage, N-stage, and clinical stage were significant prognostic factors for the survival of the patients (P?<?0.05). Whether tracheotomy had been performed was not significant for affecting survival rates. Multivariate analysis showed survival rates were statistically correlated with T-stage and N-stage (P?<?0.05). The development of laryngeal carcinoma course was faster, without treatment to the tumor itself, even if palliative surgery such as tracheostomy would not improve the survival rate. In laryngeal carcinoma patients with no surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, the factors affecting the survival rates include primary site, pathological grade, T-stage, N-stage, and clinical stage, and of them, T-stage and N-stage are the independent prognostic factors.     

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy for ascending or descending types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A retrospective study

PurposeThis study aimed to compare the efficacy between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and NACT plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Materials and methodsData from 603 patients with ascending (T4 and N0–1) or descending (T1–2&N3) NPC who were treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between October 2009 and February 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups: NACT+IMRT (n = 302) and NACT+CCRT (n = 301). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), which was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, Cox proportional hazards model, and landmark analysis.ResultsIn univariate analysis, there was no significant difference in 5-year OS between the NACT+IMRT and NACT+CCRT groups (hazard ration [HR]: 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.47–1.01; P = 0.057). However, after adjustment for age (<45 years, ≥45 years), gender, histological stage (I/II, III), T stage (1/2, 3, 4), and N stage (0/1, 2/3), NACT+IMRT was more effective in improving OS, with a 33% decrease in the risk of death than NACT+CCRT (HR: 0.67; 95%CI: 0.45–0.99). Furthermore, landmark analysis indicated that patients in the NACT+IMRT group had higher OS rates within 24 months (HR: 1.83; 95%CI: 1.00–3.34), whereas those treated with NACT+CCRT had higher OS rates after 24 months (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.29–0.77). We also found significant survival benefits of NACT+IMRT regimen in patients younger than 45 years old (HR: 0.27; 95%CI: 0.14–0.49), and in those at stage T3 (HR: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.27–0.93) and stage N2/3 (HR: 0.52; 95%CI: 0.32–0.83).ConclusionPatients with ascending or descending NPC who are treated with NACT+IMRT may have better long-term survival outcomes than those treated with NACT+CCRT, especially the patients younger than 45 years old or in stage T3/N2/N3. Additionally, NACT+IMRT may be a better option than NACT+CCRT in patients within the first 24 months.     

Lymph node ratio as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Objective

The purpose of this study is to validate the concept of lymph node ratio (LNR) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).