title: The preoperative platelet to lymphocyte ratio is a prognostic marker in patients with stage II colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a potential prognostic marker in a number of different cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of the PLR in patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) who have undergone curative resection but not adjuvant chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review was performed on 234 patients with stage II CRC who underwent curative resection, but not adjuvant chemotherapy, in our institute. The patients were divided into low and high PLR groups, and patient survival as well as several clinicopathological factors were compared between the groups. Disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analyzed by using the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate analysis was performed by using the Cox proportional hazard model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cutoff value of the PLR determined by using a receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was 25.4. DFS and CSS were significantly better in patients with a low PLR compared to patients with a high PLR (P = 0.002 and P = 0.011, respectively). On multivariate analysis, we identified the PLR as an independent prognostic factor for DFS and CSS, with a hazard ratio of 2.65 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.26-5.45; P = 0.011) and 3.61 (95 % CI, 1.08-12.64; P = 0.038, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PLR is a good prognostic indicator in patients with stage II CRC who have undergone curative surgery but not adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan, tsu443@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Tomomichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiyomatsu
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nozawa
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kazama
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sunami
authors.forename: Joji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kitayama
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010976:Platelet Count; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D057234:Preoperative Period; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate