The Prognostic Significance of the Preoperative Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio in Japanese Patients with Localized Breast Cancer

Inflammation has been shown to be a factor in tumorigenesis. The circulating platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a representative index of systemic inflammation. In this study, we analyzed the association between preoperative PLR levels and clinicopathological variables in two hundred sixty-four Japanese patients with localized breast carcinoma. We also evaluated the prognostic significance of preoperative PLR levels using the Cox proportional hazard model. Seventy-five patients (28.4%) had elevated PLR values, whereas 189 (71.6%) had depressed PLR values. The PLR correlated significantly with venous invasion (P < 0.05). Disease-free survival rates were significantly worse among patients with elevated PLR values than among those with lower PLR value (5-year survival, 81.6% vs. 90.7%, respectively; P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, elevated PLR, nuclear grade, and lymph node involvement were significant prognostic factors for disease-free survival in patients with breast carcinoma (P < 0.05). Preoperative PLR levels may be an independent prognostic factor in patients with breast carcinoma.