Pediatric
brain tumors are the most common solid
tumor type and the leading cause of
cancer-related death in children. The immune system plays an important role in
cancer pathogenesis and in the response to
immunotherapy treatments. T lymphocytes are key elements for the response of the immune system to
cancer cells and have been associated with prognosis of different
cancers. Neutrophils on the other hand, which secrete pro-angiogenic and anti-apoptotic factors, enhance the ability of
tumor cells to grow and develop into
metastases. We conducted a retrospective study of 120 pediatric
brain cancer patients and 171 elective pediatric patients hospitalized in Dana Children's Hospital and Sheba Medical Center. Data on age, sex, treatment, lymphocyte, neutrophil, and monocyte count were collected from routinely performed preoperative blood tests. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) were calculated and significance was determined by paired T test. p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. NLR was significantly higher in the pediatric
brain cancer patients. The high NLR in pediatric
brain cancer patients is the result of a combination of low lymphocytes and high neutrophils. Both of these factors can have a role in
cancer development and propagation and also in response to
therapy.