Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2026; 32(18): 118416
Published online May 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i18.118416
Published online May 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i18.118416
Predictive value of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio for prognosis in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with programmed cell death 1 inhibitors
Rui Guo, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 462000, Henan Province, China
Meng Gao, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Henan Cancer Hospital, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Guo R initiated research; Meng Gao designed the experiments and conducted clinical data collection, performed postoperative follow-up and recorded the data; Guo R conducted the collation and statistical analysis, and wrote the original manuscript and revised the paper; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 2024-1-112.
Informed consent statement: The ethics committee agrees to waive informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Corresponding author: Rui Guo, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 7 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 462000, Henan Province, China. guorui2460@163.com
Received: January 9, 2026
Revised: January 30, 2026
Accepted: March 17, 2026
Published online: May 14, 2026
Processing time: 116 Days and 24 Hours
Revised: January 30, 2026
Accepted: March 17, 2026
Published online: May 14, 2026
Processing time: 116 Days and 24 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study demonstrates that a high pretreatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an independent predictor of poor response and survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with programmed cell death 1 inhibitors. NLR reflects a systemic inflammatory state that may undermine immunotherapy efficacy. Our findings support the use of this simple, cost-effective biomarker for risk stratification and treatment personalization in the immunotherapy era.