Prognostic Value of Baseline Neutrophil-Lymphocyte and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratios in Local and Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients

Background: We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of baseline neutrophil, lymphocyte, and plateletcounts along with the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in local andadvanced gastric cancer patients. Materials and
Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, a total of103 patients with gastric cancer were included. For all, patient characteristics and overall survival (OS) timeswere evaluated. Data from a complete blood count test including neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, white bloodcell (WBC) and platelet (Plt) count, hemoglobin level (Hb) were recorded, and the NLR and PLR were obtainedfor every patient prior to pathological diagnosis before any treatment was applied.
Results: Of the patients, 53had local disease, underwent surgery and were administered adjuvant chemoradiotherapy where indicated. Theremaining 50 had advanced disease and only received chemotherapy. OS time was 71.6±6 months in local gastriccancer patients group and 15±2 months in the advanced gastric cancer group. Univariate analysis demonstratedthat only high platelet count (p=0.013) was associated with better OS in the local gastric cancer patients. Incontrast, both low NLR (p=0.029) and low PLR (p=0.012) were associated with better OS in advanced gastriccancer patients.
Conclusions: This study demonstrated that NLR and PLR had no effect on prognosis in patientswith local gastric cancer who underwent surgery and received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. In advanced gastriccancer patients, both NLR and PLR had significant effects on prognosis, so they may find application as easilymeasured prognostic factors for such patients.