Wang Y, et al. - In this meta-analysis of 17 studies, researchers evaluated the prognostic value of preoperative Neutrophil-Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in HCC patients. Outcomes suggested a close relationship of elevated preoperative NLR with the overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, preoperative NLR was also noted to be associated with tumor vascular invasion, HBV and large tumor size. Outcomes thereby suggested the significance of preoperative NLR for the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.