Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 as prognostic markers for advanced pancreatic cancer patients receiving first-line chemotherapy

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

Variables	Number of patients, n = 271	%	Median (interquartile range)	CA19-9 positive, n = 219	%	CA19-9 negative, n = 52	%	P value1
Age (yr)			63 (57-70)
< 65	167	61.6		133	60.7	34	65.4	0.535
≥ 65	104	38.4		86	39.3	18	34.6
Sex
Male	178	65.7		147	67.1	31	59.6	0.305
Female	93	34.3		72	32.9	21	40.4
ECOG
0-1	216	79.7		171	78.1	45	86.5	0.173
≥ 2	55	20.3		48	21.9	7	13.5
Stage
Locally advanced	22	8.1		15	6.8	7	13.5	0.117
Metastatic	249	91.9		204	93.2	45	86.5
Differentiation
Well to moderately	177	65.3		142	64.8	35	67.3	0.262
Poorly	94	34.7		77	35.2	17	32.7
Biliary stent
Yes	30	11.1		28	12.8	2	3.8	0.084
No	241	88.9		191	87.2	50	96.2
Chemotherapy
Gemcitabine	86	31.7		72	32.9	14	26.9	0.967
Gemcitabine/Elrotinib	110	40.6		87	39.7	23	44.2
Gemcitabine/Nab-paclitaxel	39	14.4		31	14.2	8	15.4
Gemcitabine/Fluoropyrimidine	30	11.1		24	11.0	6	11.5
FOLFIRINOX	6	2.2		5	2.3	1	1.9
No. of metastatic sites
0-2	229	84.5		180	82.2	49	94.2	0.033
3-	42	15.5		39	17.8	3	5.8
Liver metastasis
Yes	122	45.0		106	48.4	16	30.8	0.022
No	149	55.0		113	51.6	36	69.2
Pretreatment NLR			2.66 (1.78-3.85)
< 2.60	130	48.0		97	44.3	33	63.5	0.013
≥ 2.60	141	52.0		122	55.7	19	36.5
Post-treatment NLR			2.53 (1.63-4.03)
< 2.62	143	52.8		106	48.4	37	71.2	0.003
≥ 2.62	128	47.2		113	51.6	15	28.8
CA19-9 (U/mL)			362.80 (64.98-1585.90)
≤ 37	52	19.2		0	0.0	52	100.0
> 37	219	80.8		219	100.0	0	0.0
CEA (ng/mL)			3.26 (2.00-7.95)
≤ 5	175	64.6		133	60.7	42	80.8	0.003
> 5	96	35.4		86	39.3	10	19.2

¹P value from Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. ECOG PS: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status; NLR: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; CA19-9: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9; CEA: Carcinoembryonic antigen; FOLFIRINOX: Folinic acid, 5-Fluorouracil, Irinotecan and Oxaliplatin.