Value of platelet lymphocyte ratio in predicting postoperative recurrence and prognosis of breast cancer

Objective To investigate the value of platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in predicting postoperative recurrence and prognosis of breast cancer. Methods The clinical data of 209 patients with primary breast cancer admitted to Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital from March 2012 to March 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The preoperative PLR was calculated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve (AUG), Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank test were used to analyze the correlation between preoperative PLR and prognosis, postoperative recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer. Results Of the 209 breast cancer patients, 24 died during follow-up. The follow-up time was 42 (5-60) months, and the median PLR was 113.58. AUG of preoperative PLR in predicting recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer was 0.628 (95% CI =0.518-0.738, P=0.035). and the critical value, sensitivity and specificity of predicting recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer were 125.48, 61.5% and 60.1%respectively. Preoperative PLR levels were evaluated for postoperative survival of breast cancer patients with AUG=0.619 (95%CI 0.504-0.734), P=0.058. There was a statistically significant difference in the overall survival between patients with lymph node metastasis and those without lymph node (χ2=4.858, P=0.028). Conclusions Preoperative PLR level can be used as an index to predict postoperative recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer, but it can not be used as an effective predictor of postoperative prognosis in breast cancer patients. Key words: Breast cancer; Platelet lymphocyte ratio; Recurrence; Prognosis