Immune Markers in Blood Cell Counts

Neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, and monocyte counts were performed automatically using a Sysmex XE-2100 or XE-5000 automated hematology system (Sysmex Co., Kobe, Japan). ALC, NLR, PLR, and LMR were calculated from blood cell counts prior to administering PB therapy, and the cut-off values for these markers were set in accordance with previous studies as follows: 1500/μL for ALC, 3 for NLR, 300 for PLR, and 3 for LMR^{12 (link),13 (link),15 (link),20 (link)}. All patients were divided into “low” and “high” groups according to the cut-off values, respectively: low ALC (≤ 1500/μL, n = 87), high ALC (> 1500/μL, n = 27); low NLR (≤ 3, n = 60), high NLR (> 3, n = 54); low PLR (≤ 300, n = 82), high PLR (> 300, n = 32); and low LMR (≤ 3, n = 56), high LMR (> 3, n = 58). Neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, and monocyte counts are routinely measured in clinical practice during treatment and the systemic immunity markers are easily calculated from these blood cell counts. Therefore, these markers can be measured and analyzed easily and inexpensively without additional equipment, software, or personnel specialized in analyzing the results.