Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40264240›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of medical research2025

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic marker for lung cancer in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema patients.

Linling Jin, Shulan Zhou, Lei Huang, Yiting He, Jiayi Zhang, Ling Chen, Hui Kong, Weiping Xie, Mengyu He

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of medical research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Linling Jin *Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.
Shulan Zhou *Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215004, Jiangsu, China.
Lei Huang *Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.
Yiting HeDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.
Jiayi ZhangDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.
Ling ChenDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215300, Jiangsu, China.
Hui KongDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.
Weiping XieDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China. wpxie@njmu.edu.cn.
Mengyu HeDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital With Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China. myhe@njmu.edu.cn.

Funding

the Jiangsu Province Capability Improvement Project through Science, Technology and Education; Jiangsu Provincial Medical Innovation Center CXZX202206the Key Project of National Science & Technology for Infectious Diseases of China 2018ZX10722301the Young Scholars Fostering Fund of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University PY2022012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCombined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) represents a distinct clinical syndrome characterized by the coexistence of upper lobe emphysema and lower lobe fibrosis, with an increased risk of lung cancer (LC) development. This study aimed to detect the clinical features and prognosis of CPFE patients with LC and the ability of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict outcomes in those individuals.

methodsA retrospective cohort study involving patients diagnosed with CPFE combined with LC between January 2017 and December 2023 was conducted. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters and survival data were collected.

resultsA total of 80 CPFE patients with LC were included, with a mean age of 68.1 years, and a male predominance (93.8%). The LCs were predominantly adenocarcinomas (38.8%), with a significant proportion diagnosed at advanced stages (22.5% at stage III, 47.5% at stage IV) and preferential peripheral pulmonary localization (72.5%). CPFE patients with LC had estimated 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates of 52%, 40%, and 37%, respectively, with a median overall survival of 29.2 months. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that increased NLR [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.180, 95% confidence interval CI 1.029-1.352, p = 0.018] and elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (adjusted HR 1.005, 95% CI 1.000-1.010, p = 0.036) were related to an enhanced risk of all-cause mortality. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis identified an NLR cutoff value of 2.6 as a predictor of all-cause death within 24 months [area under the curve = 0.651; specificity = 62.1%; sensitivity = 66.6%; p < 0.05]. Patients with an NLR greater than 2.6 had a significantly greater risk of all-cause death than those with an NLR of 2.6 or less (adjusted HR 2.3, 95% CI 1.197-4.754; p = 0.011).

conclusionsThe NLR may serve as a cost-effective and widely accessible biomarker for risk stratification, particularly in CPFE patients with advanced-stage LC. In our cohort, an NLR cutoff value of 2.6 provides improved prognostic accuracy in predicting mortality outcomes.

Indexed as

Lung NeoplasmsLymphocytesNeutrophilsPulmonary EmphysemaPulmonary FibrosisAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRetrospective StudiesCombined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysemaLung cancerNeutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratioOverall survival

Identifiers

PMID40264240
PMCPMC12013058

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.