BACKGROUND

Recent studies have proposed that the use of the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is a good prognostic indicator for patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of the LMR in stage IV CRC patients who have undergone curative resection.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective review of 117 stage IV CRC patients who underwent curative resection at our institute between 1997 and 2012. Patients were divided into a low-LMR group and a high-LMR group according to their LMR. The cutoff value of the LMR was determined based on receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. The relationships between the LMR and disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates were assessed.

RESULTS

The cutoff value for LMR was 3.00. DFS was not significantly different between the high- and low-LMR groups (P = 0.277). By contrast, CSS was significantly better in the high-LMR group than in the low-LMR group (P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that the LMR was an independent prognostic factor for CSS in patients with stage IV CRC who had undergone curative resection (hazard ratio: 2.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.40-5.44; P = 0.004), but not for DFS.

CONCLUSIONS

The preoperative LMR is a simple and useful prognostic indicator in patients with stage IV CRC who have undergone curative resection.