Background: There is increasing evidence that the presence of an ongoing systemic inflammatory response, especially a high preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), is associated with a poor outcome for a variety of common solid tumors. However, few studies have investigated the clinical value of the NLR in patients undergoing gastroenterostomy for advanced pancreatic cancer.
Methods: A total of 83 patients who had symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction due to advanced pancreatic cancer and underwent gastroenterostomy were analyzed. The prognostic significance of the NLR was analyzed. The relationship between the NLR value and postoperative outcome was also evaluated.
Results: The median survival time was 9.4 months in patients with an NLR of <4, whereas it was 3.4 months in patients with an NLR of ≥4 (P < 0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that an NLR of ≥4, the presence of liver metastases, daily pain, and lack of postoperative chemotherapy were significant prognostic factors. A higher NLR was associated with postoperative morbidity; 13 % of patients with an NLR of <4 and 36 % of those with an NLR of ≥4 (P = 0.012) developed morbidities. With regard to quality of life, 96 % of patients with an NLR of <4 and 36 % of patients with an NLR of ≥4 had adequate oral intake of solid food without any support with intravenous nutrition for at least 1 month after surgery (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The preoperative NLR offers important prognostic information for patients who have gastric outlet obstruction due to advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.