The Implication of the Preoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in the Diagnosis of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Analysis

Aims: There is growing evidence that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be used as a prognostic factor in many head and neck cancer types. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic implication of the NLR as a biological marker in predicting the malignancy of laryngeal lesions.

Study Design: This is a retrospective study.

Methodology: The medical records of the patients who underwent an operation for a laryngeal pathology between September 2010 and January 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. For the control group, 50 age and sex matched patients were selected among the patients who underwent septoplasty. Preoperative neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio was calculated for each subject in the malignant, benign and control groups.

Results: Comparison of the three groups yielded a statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.05, p=0.025). Comparison of the malignant group with the healthy control group showed that the median NLR was higher in the malignant group (p<0.05, p=0.011).

Conclusions: Preoperative NLR was significantly elevated in laryngeal cancer patients in our study. We are of the opinion that, this cheap and easily accessible hematological parameter may have a potential role in predicting the malignancy of a space occupying laryngeal lesion. Further clinical studies should be conducted to clarify this association.