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Prognostic value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  • 0The Clinical Medical Research Center of Breast and Thyroid Tumor in Xinjiang, Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
Frontiers in Immunology +

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September 5, 2025

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September 5, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

High platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) indicates poorer outcomes for breast cancer (BC) patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). This meta-analysis suggests PLR may predict treatment efficacy but requires further research.

Area Of Science

  • Oncology
  • Inflammation Biomarkers
  • Clinical Prognostics

Background

  • Platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a recognized systemic inflammation biomarker.
  • PLR has been linked to treatment response in breast cancer (BC) patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy, but evidence is inconsistent.
  • Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a critical treatment modality for BC.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To systematically investigate the prognostic value of PLR in BC patients receiving NACT.
  • To assess the association between PLR and clinical outcomes including overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and pathological complete response (pCR).
  • To provide a comprehensive meta-analysis of existing evidence on PLR as a biomarker in NACT for BC.

Main Methods

  • Systematic literature search across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to April 7, 2025.
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to select relevant studies.
  • Meta-analysis of 24 studies involving 7,557 BC patients, assessing outcomes via hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results

  • Elevated PLR was significantly associated with reduced pathological complete response (pCR) rates (HR = 1.51).
  • Higher PLR correlated with shorter overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.64) and decreased disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 2.29).
  • Subgroup analyses revealed prognostic value varied by PLR measurement timing, geography, and cutoff values.

Conclusions

  • Elevated PLR is significantly correlated with poorer clinical outcomes in BC patients undergoing NACT.
  • PLR shows potential as a predictive biomarker for NACT efficacy in breast cancer.
  • Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings across diverse populations due to methodological limitations.

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