title: Combination of platelet count and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is a useful predictor of postoperative survival in patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical utility of the Combination of Platelet count and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (COP-NLR) for predicting the postoperative survival of patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer (GC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The COP-NLR was calculated on the basis of data obtained on the day of admission as follows: patients with both an elevated platelet count (>300 × 10(3) /µl) and an elevated NLR (>3) were allocated a score of 2, and patients showing one or neither were allocated a score of 1 or 0, respectively. Five hundred forty-four patients for whom data were sufficient to allow analysis of the relationship between clinicolaboratory characteristics and postoperative survival were enrolled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multivariate analysis using the 12 clinical characteristics selected by univariate analyses revealed that the COP-NLR was associated with OS (hazard ratio, 1.781; 95% C.I., 1.094-2.899; P = 0.020) along with age, tumor type, lymph node metastasis and albumin level. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test demonstrated significant differences in both OS and cancer-specific survival among patients with COP-NLR 0, 1, and 2 (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The COP-NLR is able to predict postoperative survival of patients with GC and classify such patients into three independent groups before surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kubota
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009504:Neutrophils; D010976:Platelet Count; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: combination of platelet count and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; gastric cancer; inflammation-based prognostic system; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; thrombocytosis