Combination of preoperative red cell distribution width and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic marker for gastric cancer patients.

Background: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) play an important role in the prognosis of several cancers, but their prognostic value in patients with stage II-III gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the RDW-NLR (R-NLR) score based on RDW and NLR in stage II-III GC patients after radical surgery.

Methods: Preoperative RDW and NLR clinicopathological data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed from stage II-III GC patients who underwent radical gastrectomy. The optimal cut-off values for pre-RDW-variation coefficient (pre-RDW-cv) and pre-NLR were defined as 14.10% and 2.015, respectively. The R-NLR score was defined as 2 (both elevated RDW and NLR), 1 (one of these was elevated), or 0 (neither were elevated). Prognostic factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: A total of 151 patients were included in this study, and 65 (43.05%), 54 (35.76%), and 32 (21.19%) patients had an R-NLR score of 0, 1 and 2, respectively. The preoperative R-NLR score was significantly correlated with tumor size and gender (all P<0.05). The 5-year overall survival (OS) in the R-NLR 0, 1, and 2 groups was 52.30%, 44.40%, and 31.20%, respectively (P=0.031), while the 5-year DFS was 47.70%, 13.30%, and 18.80%, respectively (P<0.001). Further, while the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was significantly improved in low RDW-cv and NLR patients compared with those with high RDW-cv and NLR (all P<0.05), but not OS (all P>0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the R-NLR score was independently correlated with OS [hazard ratio (HR), 1.527; P=0.007] and DFS (HR, 1.939; P=0.001).

Conclusions: We validated the preoperative R-NLR score to be a promising predictor for stage II-III GC patients who have undergone radical gastrectomy.