The purpose of the present study was to investigate the clinical significance of preoperative hematological parameters in patients with advanced stomach cancer, and to explore who might benefit from adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) compared to chemotherapy alone. Among 1032 patients with node-positive stomach cancer who had a confirmed diagnosis after complete D2 resection, and who received adjuvant chemotherapy alone or CCRT, a total of 692 patients was selected using propensity score matching. Among absolute neutrophil count, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), absolute monocyte count (AMC), platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, AMC was the most relevant prognostic factor for overall survival and recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio (HR) 1.674, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.180-2.376; HR 1.908, 95% CI 1.650-2.695, respectively). In a subgroup with a high ALC, patients treated with adjuvant CCRT had a favorable recurrence-free survival (HR 0.620, 95% CI 0.393-0.980) compared to those treated with chemotherapy alone. Further study is needed to confirm our findings and to develop tailored adjuvant treatment.
Keywords: chemotherapy; leukocyte count; platelet count; prognosis; radiotherapy; stomach neoplasm.