The values of several inflammatory markers, including the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, in patients with pancreatic cancer treated by curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy
Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the values of several systemic inflammatory markers and the prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients treated by curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: A total of 110 pancreatic cancer patients who treated by curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy were reviewed for this study. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the clinicopathological factors influencing the overall survival, including the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), and the direction of change of the NLR (increase or decrease) after one cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy as compared to the value recorded prior to the start of the chemotherapy. Results: A multivariate analysis identified only the direction of change of the NLR after the first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy as an independent risk factor for the overall survival (NLR decrease vs. NLR increase, HR=1.925; P=0.044). The NLR, PLR and GPS were not identified as significant predictors of the overall survival. Conclusions: The direction of change of the NLR after the first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy may help in predicting the effect of chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer patients treated by curative resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.