Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios predict chemotherapy outcomes and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastasis

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence indicates that inflammatory parameters could be useful to predict metastasis from colorectal cancer. However, their roles in predicting chemotherapy response and prognosis in patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) are unknown. METHODS: The clinical data and baseline laboratory parameters of 55 patients with synchronous CLM were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent palliative resection of the primary tumor and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Two indices of systemic inflammation were reviewed—neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR)—preoperatively and before the second cycle of chemotherapy. Associations between prognostic variables and tumor response, progression, and survival were investigated. RESULTS: NLR < 4 and PLR < 150 were correlated with better disease control (p = 0.024 and 0.026, respectively). In univariate analysis, elevated NLR and PLR were significant prognostic factors for poor overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). In multivariate analysis, PLR (p = 0.027), age (p = 0.018), resection of liver metastases (p = 0.017), and lactate dehydrogenase level (p = 0.011) were independent predictors of PFS, while resection of liver metastases was the only independent predictor of OS (p = 0.002). In addition, when patients were divided into groups according to changes in NLR and/or PLR, reduced NLR and PLR were associated with improved disease control (p = 0.038 and 0.025, respectively). Normalization of NLR also was associated with improved PFS. CONCLUSIONS: NLR and PLR are potentially useful clinical biomarkers to predict chemotherapy response in patients with synchronous CLM. PLR also may be useful to predict PFS in these patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12957-016-1044-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.