The Prognostic Significance Of The Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio In Patients With Esophageal Cancer

Objective To explore the prognostic significance of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients with esophageal cancer who received radical resection.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 345 cases of patients with esophageal cancer who received radical resection from 2003 to 2009 in Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University. According to preoperative NLR,the patients were divided into the low NLR group(NLR<2.21,n=198) and the high NLR group(NLR≥2.21,n=147).The 3-year、5-year survival rates and the 1-year、3-year recurrence rates of two groups were analyzed respectively.Results The 3-year and 5-year survival rates in the high NLR group were 37.3% and 19.0% respectively(P<0.05); In the low NLR group were 57.6% and 38.2% respectively(P<0.05). The 1-year and 3-year recurrence rates in the high NLR group were 50.0% and 76.7% respectively(P<0.05); In the low NLR group were 22.4% and 50.1% respectively(P<0.05).In multivariate analysis, NLR, TNM stage and degree of tumor differentiation were independent predictors of esophageal caner survival. There were significant differences of 3-year survival rate in TNM staging and therapeutic regimens between the high and low NLR groups(all P<0.05).Conclusion Preoperative NLR≥2.21 may be a convenient biomarker to predict patients with a poor prognosis after radical resection for esophageal cancer.