The association of the lymph node ratio and serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 with early recurrence after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the predictors associated with early recurrence (i.e. within 12 months) after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer (GC).

METHODS: We evaluated the clinicopathological factors in 429 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for GC without preoperative chemotherapy and analyzed these factors' associations with early recurrence.

RESULTS: Of 429 patients, 57 experienced recurrences, which were associated with gender, diameter, depth of invasion, lymph node (LN) metastasis, the LN ratio (LNr; LNs with metastasis/dissected LNs), lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels, C-reactive protein levels and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. Twenty-one patients (36.8%) recurred within 12 months. Early recurrence was associated with a high LNr (P = 0.0020) and high CA19-9 levels (P = 0.0415). The other factors were not significantly associated with early recurrence. The 12-month recurrence rate was 33.9% in patients with a high LNr and 1.9% in those with a low LNr and 20.3% in patients with high CA19-9 levels and 3.5% in those with low CA19-9 levels. The 12-month recurrence rate was 62.5% in patients with a high LNr and high CA19-9 levels, 18.4% in those with a high LNr or high-CA19-9 levels, and 1.4% in those with a low LNr and low CA19-9 levels.

CONCLUSION: LNr ≥ 0.15 and CA19-9 ≥ 37 U/ml were effective surrogate markers for predicting early recurrence.