Abstract
Background
The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been reported to predict the prognosis of various malignant tumors, including esophageal cancer. However, no previous reports have supported the use of the preoperative NLR as an independent prognostic marker focused on superficial (T1) esophageal cancer. The aim of this study was to elucidate the prognostic impact of the preoperative NLR in T1 esophageal cancer.
Methods
This retrospective study recruited 245 consecutive patients with T1 esophageal cancer who underwent subtotal esophagectomy between 2005 and 2016. The relationship between the preoperative NLR and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed.
Results
The preoperative NLR was significantly higher in male patients (p = 0.029), patients with T1b esophageal cancer (p = 0.0274), and patients with venous vessel invasion (p = 0.0082). In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, the elevated preoperative NLR was significantly associated with a poorer disease-free survival (p < 0.0001) and overall survival (p = 0.0004). In the multivariate Cox model, the elevated preoperative NLR was an independent prognostic marker for both disease-free survival (p = 0.0013) and overall survival (p = 0.0027).
Conclusion
An elevated preoperative NLR predicts poor prognosis in T1 esophageal cancer, suggesting the utility of the NLR as an easily measurable and generally available independent prognostic marker.
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Nakamura, K., Yoshida, N., Baba, Y. et al. Elevated preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocytes ratio predicts poor prognosis after esophagectomy in T1 esophageal cancer. Int J Clin Oncol 22, 469–475 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-017-1090-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-017-1090-5