Prognostic impact of the combination of the neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio and serum carbohydrate antigen 19‐9 in patients with pancreas head cancer

Background This study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of the combination of a traditional prognostic factor with a systemic inflammation‐based prognostic factor in patients undergoing curative resection for pancreas head cancer diagnosed as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Methods From January 2005 to December 2015, 198 patients were enrolled. Various clinicopathological factors potentially associated with survival and recurrence were evaluated in this study. Results The selected cut‐off values for the test prognostic factors with sufficient sensitivity and specificity were 2.8 for the neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and 70 U/mL for serum carbohydrate antigen 19‐9 (CA19‐9). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the 5‐year survival rate in patients with a high NLR and CA19‐9 was 21.8% compared with 79.8% for patients with a low NLR and CA19‐9. The 5‐year disease‐free survival rate in patients with a high NLR and CA19‐9 was 0% compared with 33.9% for patients with a low NLR and CA19‐9. Patients with high NLRs and high CA19‐9 were more likely to have an early recurrence and multiple relapse patterns. Conclusion Preoperative NLR and serum CA19‐9 offer significant prognostic information for survival following curative resection of pancreas head cancer diagnosed as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.