Elevated red cell distribution width to platelet count ratio predicts poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer

Red cell distribution width (RDW) to platelet ratio (RPR) is a prognosticator in acute pancreatitis and myocardial infarction; however, the prognostic values of RDW and RPR in breast cancer have not been studied. This retrospective analysis of 299 breast cancer patients investigated the association between RDW and RPR and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis, compared to platelet distribution width to platelet count ratio (PDW/P) which is a known independent prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer. We found a significant correlation between RPR, and age and HER2 status. An elevated RPR significantly correlated with age and HER2 status. After a median follow-up duration of 48 months, tumour size, nuclear grade, PDW/P, and RPR were recgnized to be significantly associated with lower disease-free survival rates (tumour size: p < 0.01; nuclear grade, PDW/P, and RPR: p < 0.05) in univariate analysis. Tumour size and RPR were significant prognostic factors for lower disease-free survival rates, with hazard ratios of 4.31 (95% confidence interval: 1.76–10.53) (p < 0.01)] and 2.79 [95% confidence interval: 1.01–87.69) (p < 0.05)], respectively, in a multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model. This is the first study showing that an elevated RPR could independently predict poor prognosis in patients with breast carcinoma. Thus, RPR could be a novel biomarker for prognostic estimation.