Meta-Analysis of Pretreatment Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Survival in Breast Cancer

Fifty-six studies with 16,539 patients were synthesized to evaluate a blood-based biomarker. The analysis found elevated pretreatment NLR was significantly associated with worse survival outcomes and lower rates of pathological complete response. This systematic review and meta-analysis was authored by Ziqian Zhao and uploaded to figshare in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Validating the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio based on pooled hazard ratios for overall survival.
• Assessing treatment response prediction based on the association between NLR and pathological complete response rates.
• Informing clinical trial design for biomarker validation based on the systematic review of 56 prior studies.

Strengths

• Pooled results from 56 studies involving 16,539 patients, providing a substantial evidence base.
• Reports specific statistical measures, including hazard ratios and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.
• Includes sensitivity analyses restricted to multivariable-adjusted estimates, suggesting methodological rigor.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 12.2 KB DOCX file, indicating it is likely a summary document rather than the underlying study-level data.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment for direct computational analysis.
• The description notes substantial heterogeneity and inconsistent cutoffs across the included studies.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Ziqian Zhao.

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library.

Time Range

Studies published up to April 2026.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-29 04:52:39.