[Change of Blood Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer].

AIM: The impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)changes on the outcome of chemotherapy for metastatic colorectalcancer (mCRC)was analyzed retrospectively.

METHODOLOGY: Twenty seven patients with unresectable mCRC were administered chemotherapy from January 2005 to December 2014 at the Niitsu Medical Center Hospital. The NLR was calculated from complete blood counts obtained prior to the administration of chemotherapy and at the best response. We defined the period with NLR≤2.5 as the totalintervalof NLR≤2.5. The impact of NLR on overallsurvivalwas determined using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models.

RESULTS: The median overall survival was 26 months in patients with an NLR≤5(n= 22), and 11 months in those with an NLR>5(n=5)before chemotherapy(p=0.03). The median overall survival was 31 months in patients with an NLR≤2.5(n=19), and 11 months in those with an NLR>2.5(n=8)at the best response(p< 0.001). The period with an NLR≤2.5 was found to correlate with overall survival(p<0.001). The period with an NLR≤2.5 was the only independent, statistically significant predictor of better survival in multivariate analysis(p=0.001).

CONCLUSION: The change of NLR may be a dynamic predictor of better survivalin patients with mCRC.