Abstract: Objective　To study the relationship between neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the prognosis of patients with metastatic gastric cancer. Methods　The clinical and pathological data of 148 patients with metastatic gastric cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into high NLR group (NLR≥2.51, n=73) and low NLR group (NLR <2.51, n=75). The clinical pathological characteristics and overall survival rate were compared between the two groups of patients. Cox multivariate analysis was used to determine the risk factors affecting the overall survival rate of metastatic gastric cancer. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to make the survival curves of the two groups of patients. Results　The proportion of metastatic site≥2, liver metastasis, peritoneal metastasis, helicobacter pylori infection and CEA≥5 μg/L was significantly higher in high NLR group than that of low NLR group (P＜0.05). The results of survival analysis showed that the survival time was significantly shorter in the high NLR group than that of the low NLR group (10 months vs. 22 months, P＜0.05). The overall survival rates for 1, 3, and 5 years of follow-up were significantly lower in patients in the high NLR group than those in the low NLR group (26.03% vs. 65.33%, 6.85% vs. 16.00%, 0 vs. 4.00%, P＜0.05). Cox multivariate analysis showed that liver metastasis, peritoneal metastasis and NLR≥2.51 were independent risk factors that affect the overall survival rate of patients with metastatic gastric cancer. Conclusion　NLR can predict the long-term survival of patients with metastatic gastric cancer. Patients with NLR≥2.51 have poor long-term survival.

Key words: stomach neoplasms, carcinoma, neoplasm metastasis, prognosis, risk factors, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, metastatic gastric cancer