ABSTRACT
Objective:
To evaluate the impact of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio change after curative surgery for gastric cancer.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis of patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery between 2009 and 2017 was performed. A cutoff value was established for the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in the pre- and postoperative periods, according to the median value, and four subgroups were formed (low-low/low-high/high-low/high-high). Clinical-pathological and survival data were analyzed and related to these subgroups.
Results:
A total of 325 patients were included in the study. The cutoff values of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio were 2.14 and 1.8 for the pre and postoperative periods, respectively. In patients with stages I and II, the high-high subgroup presented worse overall survival (p=0.016) and disease-free survival (p=0.001). Complications were higher in the low-high subgroup of patients.
Conclusion:
The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is a low cost, efficient and reproducible marker. The prognosis individualization can be performed according to the identification of subgroups at a higher risk of complications and worse prognosis.
Keywords:
Stomach neoplasms; Prognosis; Biomarkers; Inflammation; Gastrectomy
