Combination of platelet count and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is a useful predictor of postoperative survival in patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer

Objective To investigate the clinical utility of the Combination of Platelet count and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (COP‐NLR) for predicting the postoperative survival of patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer (GC). Methods The COP‐NLR was calculated on the basis of data obtained on the day of admission as follows: patients with both an elevated platelet count (>300 × 103/µl) and an elevated NLR (>3) were allocated a score of 2, and patients showing one or neither were allocated a score of 1 or 0, respectively. Five hundred forty‐four patients for whom data were sufficient to allow analysis of the relationship between clinicolaboratory characteristics and postoperative survival were enrolled. Results Multivariate analysis using the 12 clinical characteristics selected by univariate analyses revealed that the COP‐NLR was associated with OS (hazard ratio, 1.781; 95% C.I., 1.094–2.899; P = 0.020) along with age, tumor type, lymph node metastasis and albumin level. Kaplan–Meier analysis and log rank test demonstrated significant differences in both OS and cancer‐specific survival among patients with COP‐NLR 0, 1, and 2 (P