Prognostic Significance of the Lymph Node Ratio in Obstructive Colorectal Cancer: A Retrospective Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND/AIM: This study evaluated the association between lymph node ratio (LNR) and long-term prognosis in pathological node-positive patients with obstructive colorectal cancer (CRC) who underwent colonic stent insertion as a bridge to surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: his retrospective multicenter study included 75 node-positive patients with obstructive CRC treated with a colonic stent. Receiver operating characteristic analysis for 5-year relapse-free survival identified an optimal LNR cut-off of 0.125. Patients were thus classified into high-LNR (LNR-H, n=40) and low-LNR (LNR-L, n=35) groups. Clinicopathological factors, surgical outcomes, and survival were assessed. RESULTS: =0.004) and blood loss as independent predictors of prognosis. CONCLUSION: LNR appears to represent a practical biomarker, with an elevated LNR independently predicting long-term outcomes among patients with node-positive obstructive CRC undergoing stent placement before surgery.