Purpose: Preoperative platelet-to-monocyte ratio (PLR), albumin and hemoglobin are suggested prognostic indicators in various malignancies. However, the prognostic values of PLR, albumin and hemoglobin remain elusive. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic values of PLR, albumin and hemoglobin in stage I-III colon cancer. Patients and methods: A total of 312 patients with non-metastatic colon cancer undergoing curative resection were enrolled in this study. The prognostic values of PLR, albumin and hemoglobin were identified by receiver operating characteristics, and univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Univariate analysis revealed that preoperative PLR, albumin and hemoglobin were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) and that preoperative PLR and albumin were significantly associated with progression-free survival (PFS). Multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative PLR was significantly associated with OS. Conclusion: Reduced preoperative PLR was significantly associated with better OS in patients with stage I-III colon cancer. Preoperative PLR was an independent prognostic indictor for OS in patients with colon cancer undergoing curative resection.

We aim to investigate the roles and mechanisms of NR3C2 in colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression of NR3C2 in CRC tumours and paired paracancerous tissues of 71 CRC patients and five CRC cell lines was detected by western blotting, immunohistochemistry and real‐time reverse‐transcription PCR. Moreover, NR3C2 was overexpressed or knocked down in CRC cells by lentiviral vector transfection. The proliferation of cells was measured by MTT, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. Glucose metabolism was assessed by detecting lactate production, glucose consumption and ATP production. Western blotting and real‐time reverse‐transcription PCR were used to detect the expression of AMPK, LDHA and HK2. The expression of NR3C2 was significantly decreased in CRC tumours compared to paracancerous tissues, which was correlated with distant metastasis, poor prognosis and advanced stages of CRC patients. Overexpressing NR3C2 suppressed the proliferation and promoted the G2/M cell cycle arrest of CRC cells. Furthermore, NR3C2 inhibited glucose metabolism by decreasing the expression of HK2 and LDHA. The phosphorylation of AMPK was also downregulated in CRC cells overexpressing NR3C2. This study demonstrated that NR3C2 inhibited the proliferation of CRC by inhibiting glucose metabolism and phosphorylation of AMPK which may serve as a therapeutic target for CRC.

The systemic inflammation plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Pretreatment lymphocyteto-monocyte ratio (LMR) has been suggested to be associated with clinical outcomes in various malignancies. To evaluate the prognostic significance of pretreatment LMR on gastric cancer, we conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov (Prospero Registration No. CRD42018087263). This meta-analysis included all studies evaluating the prognostic significance of pretreatment LMR on gastric cancer. The main outcome measures included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and the relationship between LMR and clinicopathological features. In total, 11 studies (12 cohorts) enrolling 14,262 patients with gastric cancer were included. The pooled estimates showed that elevated pretreatment LMR was significantly associated with better OS (hazard ratio (HR): 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58-0.83) and better PFS (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.44-0.99). The elevated LMR was also significantly associated with young patients, female, low level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), low level of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), stage I-II, small tumor size, absence of lymph node metastasis, absence of vascular invasion, and absence of perineural invasion. In conclusion, the elevated pretreatment LMR predicted the better clinical outcomes in patients with gastric cancer.

KEYWORDScolon cancer, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio, prognostic nutritional index, prognosis, systemic inflammation 2 Abstract Background: Systemic inflammation plays an important part in tumorigenesis and progression. The predictive values of the preoperative lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in colon cancer remained unclear.Methods: A total of 308 patients with colon cancer undergoing radical resection were enrolled and analyzed. The receiver operating curves were applied to identify the thresholds for these biomarkers.Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate analysis were used to identify independent prognostic factors.Results: The univariate analysis showed that elevated LMR and PNI were significantly correlated with better overall survival and progression-free survival. The multivariate analysis showed that LMR and PNI were the independent prognostic factors for overall survival.Conclusions: Preoperative LMR and PNI could serve as useful prognostic factor in patients with colon cancer undergoing radical resection.