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

Fifty-six studies involving 16,539 patients were synthesized to evaluate a blood-based biomarker. This dataset contains the meta-analysis results showing elevated pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with worse survival outcomes and lower treatment response rates. The analysis was conducted by Ziqian Zhao and published on figshare in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Validate the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio based on pooled hazard ratios for overall survival.
• Assess the relationship between pretreatment blood markers and pathologic complete response rates based on synthesized odds ratios.
• Investigate heterogeneity in biomarker cutoffs and their impact on survival predictions as noted in the conclusion.

Strengths

• Pooled data from 56 studies provides a substantial evidence base.
• Results include specific hazard ratios and confidence intervals for multiple survival outcomes (OS, DFS, RFS).
• Sensitivity analyses were performed, indicating stable findings for multivariable-adjusted estimates.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 27.2 KB document; the underlying tabular data for the meta-analysis is not directly accessible.
• Substantial heterogeneity and inconsistent cutoffs for the biomarker are noted as limitations in the source conclusion.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

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 04:52:35.