Association of Preoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Tumor

Objective: Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of gynecological cancer death among women worldwide. Silent growth of the tumor and challenges associated with preoperative evaluation of an ovarian mass are responsible for late presentation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between preoperative neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and epithelial ovarian tumor. Methods: A total of 60 patients diagnosed with ovarian tumor who fulfilled the selection criteria were recruited as study population. The ovarian tumor was subsequently diagnosed by histopathological analysis as either malignant epithelial ovarian tumor or benign epithelial ovarian tumor. Preoperative demographic and laboratory variables are reviewed in all patients. Association of preoperative NLR was assessed in benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tumor using unpaired t test. Receiver operating characteristics curve was used to calculate optimal cut off value for NLR to predict ovarian cancer preoperatively. A p-value of <0.05 was considered to indicate statistically significant differences. Results: There was statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age, menopausal status, and NLR (all p=0.001, except for menopausal status p=0.007). NLR value was significantly higher (3.47±1.52) in patients with malignant ovarian tumor (p=0.001) than that of benign ovarian tumor. Higher NLR value predicted ovarian cancer at the cut-off value of 2.78, with 75.6% sensitivity and 78.9% specificity (95% CI, 0.97-1.0). Conclusion: Malignant epithelial ovarian tumor is associated with higher NLR. Preoperative NLR may be helpful for prediction of malignant ovarian tumor.