Objective  To investigate the association of pretherapeutic neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and serum albumin levels with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) prognosis in 401 patients.

  Methods  This study involved 401 NPC patients recently diagnosed and admitted in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China. Laboratory variables, such as immunology-related parameters and albumin level prior to treatment, were analyzed. The overall survival and disease-free survival rates were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and were then compared using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazards model to identify prognostic factors.

  Results  Patients with neutrophil counts >5.20×10⁹/L (n=172) had significantly lower overall survival and disease-free survival rates compared with those with neutrophil counts ≤5.20×10⁹/L (n=229) (P=0.014, P=0.009). In the 401 NPC cases, patients with high albumin levels (>43.00 g/L; n=253) had significantly higher overall survival (P=0.000) and disease-free survival (P=0.006) rates compared with those with low albumin levels (≤43.00 g/L; n=148). Multivariate analysis showed that the neutrophil level is an independent risk factor for disease-free survival, whereas the albumin level is a strong independent prognostic factor for overall survival.

  Conclusion  The pretherapeutic neutrophil and albumin levels are independent prognostic factors for survival in NPC patients.