Comparison of inflammation-based prognostic scores as predictors of tumor recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection

Background Various inflammation-based prognostic scores, including the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic index (PI), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI), have been associated with survival in patients with several types of cancer. This study compared the ability of these scores to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative hepatectomy. Methods Data were collected prospectively from 113 patients who underwent curative resection for HCC from January 2003 to December 2012. Clinicopathological variables including preoperative inflammation-based prognostic scores were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors predictive of RFS. Results Univariate analysis showed that NLR (P < 0.0001) and PI (P = 0.0194) were significantly associated with RFS. Multivariate analysis showed that NLR (hazard ratio [HR]; 2.58, P = 0.0020), tumor differentiation (HR; 9.55, P < 0.0001), serosal invasion (HR; 2.24, P = 0.0112), and vascular invasion (HR; 2.18, P = 0.0106) were independently correlated with RFS. Conclusions Preoperative NLR is an independent predictor of RFS in patients with HCC after curative hepatectomy, and is superior to the other inflammation-based prognostic scores.