title: Superiority of the ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes for predicting the prognosis for patients with gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic prediction superiority of the ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes (RNP) in gastric cancer (GC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinicopathologic data of 1,563 GC patients were analyzed to demonstrate the prognostic significances of the RNP stage. The tumor RNP metastasis (TRNPM) classification system also was evaluated to determine the potential superiorities of the prognostic prediction for GC patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the univariate survival analysis, both RNP stage and TRNPM classification were demonstrated to be relative factors in the overall survival (OS) of GC patients. Like the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) and positive and dissected lymph node (TRPDM) classifications, the TRNPM classification was identified as an independently prognostic predictor of GC patients using multivariate survival analysis. However, TRNPM classification has smaller Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion values than the TNM and TRPDM classifications, and TRNPM classification was demonstrated to be the most intensive indicator for the OS of GC patients using the case-control matched approach, which represented the comparative superiorities of prognostic prediction of TRNPM classification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The RNP stage should be considered as the optimal variable for evaluating the prognosis of GC in the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of GC Surgery, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital, City Key Laboratory of Tianjin Cancer Center and National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Rupeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liangliang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xishan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000401:mortality*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult