Lymph node ratio is a critical prognostic predictor in gastric cancer treated with S-1 chemotherapy

Background S-1 is an oral anticancer drug widely used in postoperative adjuvant therapy for patients in Japan with stage II/III gastric cancer. Candidates for more intense adjuvant treatments need to be identified, particularly among patients with stage III cancer. Methods Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted for patients with stage II/III gastric cancer who underwent surgery and received S-1 postoperatively between 2000 and 2010. Results Factors indicating poor prognosis identified by univariate analysis include male sex ( P = 0.022), age ≥67 years ( P = 0.021), intestinal-type histology ( P = 0.049), lymph node ratio ≥16.7 % ( P