CSF2 and neoplasm: This correlation might be due to the fact that tumor cells secrete granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and/or granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which are not only direct growth factors for tumor cells but may also contribute to increased NLR in patients, shifting bone marrow hematopoiesis from the lymphocyte lineage toward the granulocyte lineage (96–98).