Association of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio with tumoral differentiation in colorectal cancer

Introduction Colorectal cancer is a global health issue associated with high rates of recurrence and metastasis. Inflammation plays a vital role in the pathogenesis and progression of colorectal cancer. This study aimed to determine the relationship between simple blood biomarkers namely neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) reflecting inflammatory status with histopathologic variables in CRC. Methods The collected data in 64 patients with diagnosis of colorectal cancer operated between 2014 and 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The relationship of the NLR and PLR with histopathologic features was evaluated. Results In this study, the patients evaluated for histopathologic characteristics, tumoral differentiation were mild (36 %), moderate (31 %) and poor (33 %). High NLR and PLR were significantly associated with poor tumor differentiation (ƿ = 0.01 and ƿ = 0.02 respectively). Conclusion Our findings indicate a significant relationship between these two inflammatory indices and poor tumor differentiation, but no association was found with other pathological variables. These inflammatory markers can be introduced as useful biomarkers and contribute to a more accurate classification of CRC patients.