Association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and T lymphocytes with the pathogenesis and progression of HBV-associated primary liver cancer

The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a new prognostic predictor for patients with liver cancer. The association of NLR and T lymphocytes with the pathogenesis and progression of liver cancer is poorly understood. Seventy-three patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated primary liver cancer (HBV-PLC), 50 patients with HBV-associated liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) and 37 patients with chronic HBV infection (CHB) were prospectively enrolled from July 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014 in Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University (Beijing, China). The NLR, proportions and concentrations of neutrophils and lymphocytes, concentration of subpopulations of lymphocytes, and the expression of CD31 (index for recent thymic output) and HLA-DR (index for activation of T lymphocytes) of T cells in the peripheral blood samples of the patients were assessed and statistically compared between different groups. The NLR was significantly increased from patients with CHB, those with HBV-LC to those with HBV-PLC (P