Clinical Implication of Inflammation-Based Prognostic Score in Pancreatic Cancer: Glasgow Prognostic Score Is the Most Reliable Parameter

A variety of systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores have been explored; however, there has been no study to clarify which score could best reflect survival in resected pancreatic cancer patients. Between 2002 and 2014, 379 consecutive patients who underwent curative resection of pancreatic cancer were enrolled. The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic index (PI), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) scores for each patient were calculated. Survival of each score was evaluated, and correlations between the score selected on the basis of the prognostic significance and various clinicopathological factors were analyzed. In the analysis of the GPS, the median survival time (MST) was 28.1 months for score 0, 25.6 for score 1, and 17.0 for score 2. As for mGPS, the MST was 25.8 months for score 0, 27.7 for score 1, and 17.0 for score 2. Both scores were found to be significant. On the contrary, there were no statistical differences in MST between various scores obtained using the NLR, PLR, PI, or PNI. Multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis, positive peritoneal washing cytology, and a GPS score of 2 were significant prognostic factors. There was also statistically significant correlation between the GPS score and tumor location (head), tumor size (≥2.0 cm), bile duct invasion, and duodenal invasion. Our study demonstrated that the GPS could be an independent predictive marker and was superior to other inflammation-based prognostic scores in patients with resected pancreatic cancer.