Inflammation-based prognostic score as a predictor of postoperative gastric cancer recurrence.

AIM The aim of our study was to determine whether an inflammation-based prognostic score predicted tumor aggressiveness and disease-free survival (DFS). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 197 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. The preoperative inflammation-based score was calculated as follows: patients with elevated C-reactive protein (>0.5 mg/dl) and hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dl) were allocated a score of 2, and patients with one or no abnormal value were allocated a score of 1 or 0, respectively. RESULTS The inflammation-based prognostic score was significantly associated with tumor size and lymph node metastasis. The association between inflammation-based prognostic score and DFS was evaluated by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. In multivariate analyses, an elevated inflammation-based prognostic score was associated with significantly worse DFS. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative inflammation-based prognostic score is a potential marker for recurrence after curative gastrectomy.