Background: This study examined the significance of preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)as a predictor of postoperative outcomes of gastric cancer(GC).
Methods: NLR was calculated in 447 patients with GC undergoing curative gastrectomy, and its associations with postoperative short- and long-term outcomes were retrospectively examined.
Results: Patients were divided into high-(n=313)or low-(n=134)NLR groups using an optimal cut-off NLR value of 1.6 according to the ROC curve analysis. A high-NLR was significantly associated with other clinical factors such as undifferentiated histology, advanced cT, and cN+. There was no difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the 2 groups. Meanwhile, a high NLR was associated with a poor 5-year overall survival. Multivariate analysis identified preoperative NLR to be an independent prognostic factor(hazard ratio: 2.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.39-6.33, p=0.003)along with performance status, tumor location, and cT.
Conclusion: Preoperative NLR could be one of the useful predictors of postoperative long-term outcomes of GC.