Preoperative neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio predicts overall survival but does not predict recurrence or cancer-specific survival after curative resection of node-positive colorectal cancer

Background The preoperative ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes (NLR) has been proposed as a marker of poor outcome in patients having a resection for colorectal cancer (CRC). This study investigated the association between NLR and overall survival, cancer-specific survival and recurrent cancer in patients who had a potentially curative resection for node-positive CRC.