The Prognostic Value of the Preoperative Lymphocyte Count in Patients with Gastric Cancer.
10.5230/jkgca.2009.9.1.26
- Author:
Shin Yong KANG
1
;
Wan Sik YU
;
Ho Young CHUNG
;
Sung Hun PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. lord11@empal.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Gastric cancer;
Lymphocyte count;
Prognosis
- MeSH:
Gastrectomy;
Humans;
Lymphocyte Count;
Lymphocytes;
Multivariate Analysis;
Prognosis;
Proportional Hazards Models;
Stomach Neoplasms;
Survival Rate
- From:Journal of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association
2009;9(1):26-30
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the peripheral blood lymphocyte count before surgery in those patients with gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group was comprised of a series of 1,054 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy. The appropriate lymphocyte count cutoff value was determined. The prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The lymphocyte count cutoff value was 1,500/ul. The patients were classified into two groups: Group A had a lymphocyte count > or =1,500/ul (n=765) and Group B had a lymphocyte count <1,500/ul (n=289). There were statistically significant differences between the groups according to their age (P<0.001), the tumor stage (P=0.038) and the tumor size (P<0.001). The 5- and 10-year survival rates of Group A were 80.1% and 76.6%, respectively and those of Group B were 72.4% and 63.5%, respectively (P=0.002). When multivariate analysis was performed by the Cox proportional hazards model, the lymphocyte count was not an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSION: Although the prognosis of patients with a high lymphocyte count was better than that of the patients with a low lymphocyte count, our results did not support using the preoperative peripheral blood lymphocyte count as an independent prognostic factor for patients with gastric cancer.
