Correlation Between Intratumoral NETs and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Gastric Cancer.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Systemic inflammation impacts cancer progression and prognosis.
• Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic factor in various cancers.
• The role of NLR and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in gastric cancer requires further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between preoperative NLR and intratumoral NETs in gastric cancer.
• To evaluate the prognostic significance of NLR and NETs in gastric cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 52 gastric cancer patients undergoing curative surgery.
• Stratification of patients based on preoperative NLR (≥3.5 vs. <3.5).
• Assessment of correlations between systemic NLR, tissue NET density, and overall survival.

Main Results:

• High NLR group showed significantly reduced median survival (2.60 years) compared to the low NLR group (3.98 years).
• A moderate positive correlation (r=0.507, p=0.0001) was found between NLR and NET density in tumor tissues.

Conclusions:

• Elevated NLR is linked to poor survival in gastric cancer.
• NLR is positively correlated with NET formation within the tumor microenvironment.
• NLR and tissue NETs show potential as accessible prognostic markers for gastric cancer.