Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic indicator of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with arterial cisplatin plus continuous 5-fluorouracil

Aim Hepatic arterial infusion (HAIC) therapy may be a therapeutic option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in addition to administration of sorafenib, which is the only currently established standard regimen for this disease. Survival benefit of HAIC has been reported in patients positive for antitumor response. Therefore, the prediction of antitumor response is important in decision‐making for HAIC treatment. Methods Twenty‐six consecutive patients with advanced HCC treated by HAIC using arterial cisplatin plus continuous 5‐fluorouracil were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was assessed to determine its effectiveness as a prognostic indicator of HAIC. Results The median time to progression and overall survival time (OS) were 5.0 and 17.0 months, respectively. The overall response rate (RR) among the 26 patients was 42.3%, and RR was independent of liver function. Interestingly, RR was significantly lower in patients with NLR of 4 or more (odds ratio, 0.49; P = 0.04). When we investigated factors that influenced OS, treatment effect and NLR of less than 4 were associated with prolonged OS. No serious adverse events were found in treatment with HAIC. Conclusion HAIC is a candidate for treatment of advanced HCC, and NLR may be a useful prognostic indicator for suitability of HAIC.