Abstract:
Objective To investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) combined with tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in the stroma of gastric cancer tissues of patients.
Methods One hundred and twenty-six gastric cancer tissue samples from patients enrolled in Changhai hospital from June 2006 to May 2011 were divided into four groups according to NLRs in preoperative peripheral blood combined with high or low infiltration of neutrophils in gastric cancer tissues. The 5-year survival of the four groups was then compared, and their correlations with clinicopathologic features and prognosis were analyzed.
Results High NLRs in peripheral blood combined with low infiltrating TANs in gastric tissues was associated with lower differential grade (P < 0.001) and larger tumor size (P=0.026). Of the four groups, patients with high NLR in peripheral blood combined with low infiltrating TANs in gastric cancer tissues demonstrated the lowest survival rates, whereas those with low NLR and high infiltrating TANs had highest survival rates, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that high NLR in peripheral blood combined with low infiltrating TANs in gastric cancer tissues (P < 0.05) was an independent factor indicating poor prognosis.
Conclusions NLR in preoperative peripheral blood combined with infiltrating TANs in gastric cancer tissues can be used as a prognostic indicator for patients with gastric cancer, especially high NLR in preoperative peripheral blood combined with low infiltrating TANs in gastric cancer tissue indicates poor prognosis.