This study was designed to evaluate the impact of an elevated preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on outcome after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients undergoing resection for HCC from January 1994 to May 2007 were identified from the hepatobiliary database. Demographics, laboratory analyses, and histopathology data were analyzed.

A total of 96 patients were identified with a median age at diagnosis of 65 (range, 15–85) years. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 80%, 58%, and 52%, respectively. Although the presence of microvascular invasion, NLR ≥5, and R1 resection margin were adverse predictors of overall survival, there were no independent predictors identified on multivariate analysis. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates were 74%, 63%, and 57%, respectively. Preoperative tumor biopsy, NLR ≥ 5, multiple liver tumors, microvascular invasion, and R1 resection margin were all predictors of poorer disease-free survival. Multivariate analysis showed that a NLR ≥ 5 and R1 resection margin were independent predictors of poorer disease-free survival. The median disease-free survival of those with a NLR ≥ 5 was 8 months compared with 18 months for those with a NLR < 5.

Preoperative NLR ≥ 5 was an adverse predictor of disease-free and overall survival.