Patel DA, et al. - In this retrospective analysis of 126 patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated at Washington University between 2005 and 2010, researchers evaluated the influence of radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy on absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in relation to survival outcomes via Cox proportional hazard model with time-varying covariates. RT was administered to all patients whereas either neoadjuvant chemotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy, or both, was administered to 112 patients. According to findings, the persistence of post-treatment lymphopenia and NLR elevation could be seen until 1 year after treatment completion. Both portended shorter survival for patients with TNBC. For the detection of high-risk patients who may benefit from clinical trials rather than standard of care therapy, the use of ALC and NLR was supported.