RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Clinical Significance of an Inflammation-based Prognostic System for Gastric Cancer Patients with a Preoperative Normal Serum Level of Carcinoembryonic Antigen JF Anticancer Research JO Anticancer Res FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 7219 OP 7226 VO 34 IS 12 A1 MITSURU ISHIZUKA A1 YUSUKE OYAMA A1 AKIHITO ABE A1 KAZUMA TAGO A1 GENKI TANAKA A1 KEIICHI KUBOTA YR 2014 UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/12/7219.abstract AB Aim: To investigate the significance of the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) for predicting the postoperative survival of gastric cancer (GC) patients with a normal preoperative serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Because CEA is a useful marker for prognostication of several types of cancer, some patients with GC have a normal CEA level. On the other hand, the GPS has been established as a valuable inflammation-based prognostic system for cancer patients. Patients and Methods: Among 650 patients who had undergone elective surgery for GC, 425 with a normal preoperative serum CEA level (≤5.0 ng/ml) were enrolled. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship of the GPS to overall survival. The Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test were used to compare the survival curves among patients with GPS 0, 1 and 2. Results: Multivariate analysis using clinical characteristics selected from univariate analyses revealed that the GPS (0, 1/2) was associated with overall survival (hazard ratio=2.048; 95% C.I. (confidence interval)=1.002-4.185; p=0.049) along with age (≤70/>70) (years), sex, tumor type (3, 4, 5/0, 1, 2), lymph node metastasis (presence/absence) and platelet count (≤35/>35) (×104/mm3). The Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test demonstrated that there were significant differences in overall survival among patients with GPS 0, 1 and 2 (p<0.001). Conclusion: Even if GC patients have a normal serum level of CEA, the GPS is able to predict their postoperative survival and classify such patients into three independent groups before surgery.