Evaluations of interferon‐γ/interleukin‐4 ratio and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio as prognostic indicators in gastric cancer patients

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesTh2‐dominant immunity and high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios (NLRs) have been reported to reflect tumor progression, and so we examined whether the Th1/Th2 ratio and NLR can act as prognostic indicators or not.MethodsPeripheral blood samples were taken within 1 week before and 14 postoperative days after curative gastrectomy using 157 gastric cancer cases for the measurement of both ratios. The proportions of Th1 cells (interferon γ‐producing CD4 T cells), Th2 cells (interleukin‐4‐producing CD4 T cells) were counted by two‐color flow cytometry analysis.ResultsThere were significant differences in 5‐year survival both between the high and low Th1/Th2 ratio groups, and between the high and low NLR groups. The pattern classifications before and after surgery in the Th1/Th2 ratio showed strongly significant differences in 5‐year survival. NLR was especially influenced by tumor size, and there was a negative linear correlation between the two ratios before surgery.ConclusionsThe Th1/Th2 ratio may be a good prognostic indicator and may also be a promising marker for estimating the effectiveness of surgery. NLR may also be a good prognostic indicator and may be a valid marker of tumor recurrence, and it appeared that some interaction between lymphocytes and neutrophils had occurred. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010;102:742–747. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.