Investigation of the Differences between the Immunity of High- and Low-risk Anatomical Regions in Patients with Basal Cell Carcinoma: Is Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Associated with Regional Distribution of the Tumor?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most commonly observed type of cancer. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a measure of the immune status of patients, and the ratio increases as the tumor becomes aggressive. This study aims to compare the NLR of patients with tumors in high-risk H region and in the usual risk regions. METHODS Patients who were operated for BCC between January 2017 and May 2018 were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups. Patients with tumors found in the high-risk H region, according to subclinical expansion, were classified as Group 1. Patients with tumors in other anatomical regions were classified as Group 2. Electronic file and photographs of each patient from the archives were examined and demographical data, as well as hemogram analyses, were recorded. RESULTS Forty-six cases were included in this study. Fourteen patients were female and 32 patients were male. The mean age of the patients was 64,6 years (33-87 years). The mean follow-up period was eight months (1-17 months). The NLR and thrombocyte to lymphocyte ratio of the patients did not show statistically significant differences between the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION The NLR does not distinguish between the H region and other regions in BCC concerning biological characteristics of the tumor.