[Prognostic value of lymph node ratio in survival of patients with stage III rectal cancer].

Objective: To assess the prognostic value of lymph node ratio (LNR) in patients with stage III rectal cancer after curative resection.

Methods: A retrospective review of the clinicopathological data was performed in 161 patients with stage III rectal cancer who received curative surgical excision in our hospital from June 2005 to June 2010. The variables including LNR, age, gender, T stage, N stage, total number of dissected lymph nodes, number of metastatic lymph nodes, and positive rate of lymph node metastasis were studied through univariate and multivariate analyses, and the survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test.