Although the mechanisms remain unclear, recent studies reported an elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio to be associated with elevation of cytokines that increased tumor macrophage function, including: interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-12, IL-17, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [8, 19]. The gene discussed is CSF3; the disease is neoplasm.