Diabetes mellitus and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio predict overall survival in non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and systemic inflammation are closely associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the prognostic significance of DM on HCC remains controversial. The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of DM and the systemic inflammation-based neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the overall survival (OS) rate of non-viral HCC patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). A retrospective analysis of 138 patients with HCC, who were diagnosed between 2002 and 2012 with non-viral causes and who later underwent TACE, was performed. Among these patients, 34 (24.6%) had pre-existing DM and 46 (33.3%) exhibited an elevated baseline NLR (≥5). The multivariate analysis showed that DM, the NLR and a portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) were independent predictors for a poor OS rate (P