The importance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio before and after radiation in breast cancer patients
Behar Raci
- University Clinical Center of KosovoPrishtina, Kosovo
- University Clinic for Infectious Diseases & Febrile Conditions, Faculty of MedicineSkopje, North Macedonia
Perfil de Orcid, Snezana Stojkovska
Perfil de Orcid, Meleq Bahtijari
Perfil de Orcid, Gezim Hodolli
Perfil de Orcid, Gazmend Nafez
Perfil de Orcid, Burim Uka
- University Clinical Center of KosovoPrishtina, Kosovo
- Faculty of Radiology, UBT Higher Education InstitutionPrishtina, Kosovo
Perfil de Orcid y Diellor Rizaj
- University Clinical Center of KosovoPrishtina, Kosovo
- Faculty of Radiology, UBT Higher Education InstitutionPrishtina, Kosovo
Perfil de Orcid 
Categoría del artículo: Research Article
Publicado en línea: 12 jul 2025
Páginas: 45 - 52
Recibido: 15 jun 2024
Aceptado: 02 oct 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fco-2024-0009
Palabras clave
© 2024 Behar Raci et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Aim
The purpose of this research is to analyze the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to define prognostic factors in patients with breast cancer and to analyze the NLR values among stages, grades, and fractions.
Methods
The data retrieval period was from October 2018 to June 2020. The study included 56 patients who were part of the research. The mean age of patients was 53.42 years.
Results
On average, NLR after radiotherapy was higher than before treatment. Moreover, the 5-year overall survival rate for breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy was 81%.
Conclusions
Based on the NLR results for patients with breast cancer, it is confirmed that the ratio of patients with poor prognosis compared to those with good prognosis is 3.3 to 1. Specifically, all stages of breast cancer showed an increase in NLR after treatment. The exception was stage III, which showed lower NLR values after treatment and, consequently, a better prognosis of the disease.