Background: Prognostic biomarkers provide essential information about a patient's overall outcome. However, existing biomarkers are limited in terms of either sample collection, such as requiring tissue specimens, or the process, such as prolonged time for analysis. In view of the need for convenient and non-invasive prognostic biomarkers for oral cancer, we aimed to investigate the prognostic values of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patient survival. We also aimed to explore the associations of these ratios with the clinicopathologic characteristics of Japanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Methods: This study was a non-randomized retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral center. We included 433 patients (246 men, 187 women) who underwent radical surgery for oral cancers between January 2001 and December 2013. We evaluated various risk factors for poor prognosis including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio with univariate and multivariate analyses. The disease-specific survival and overall survival rates of patients were compared among the factors and biomarkers. Results: In multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis, high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (hazard ratio 2.87, 95% confidence interval 1.59-5.19, P < 0.001), moderately or poorly differentiated histology (hazard ratio 2.37, 95% confidence interval 1.32-4.25, P < 0.001), and extranodal extension (hazard ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.35, P = 0.016) were independent predictors of disease-specific survival. High neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (hazard ratio 2.30, 95% confidence interval 1.42-3.72, P < 0.001), moderately or poorly differentiated (hazard ratio 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.76, P = 0.025), and extranodal extension (hazard ratio 1.79, 95% confidence interval 1.13-2.84, P = 0.013) were independent predictors of overall survival. Conclusions: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio might be a potential independent prognostic factor in Japanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.

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A new layered sensor for simultaneous measurement of electromyography (EMG), mechanomyography (MMG) and oxygen consumption based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) at the same position of the muscle is presented. The proposed sensor is a layered structure of a thin stainless-steel electrode, a PVDF film with transparent electrodes and optical sensors. EMG, MMG and oxygen consumption based on NIRS are measured by the stainless-steel electrodes, PVDF film and optical sensors, respectively. Using the three types of data, muscular activity can be analyzed in more detail. Additionally, the proposed sensor system reduces the constraint of the sensors arranged on the skin in measurements at multiple points because three types of information, previously obtained with three types of general sensors, are detected by a pair of proposed sensors. In an experiment, simultaneous measurement of EMG, MMG and oxygen consumption via NIRS at the forearm was demonstrated using the proposed sensor under fluorescent light. The performance of the layered sensor was evaluated.