Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.[1] Rectal cancer accounts for 30% to 35% of CRCs[2], Between 5% and 10% of patients with rectal cancer present with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC),[3] Useful and practical prognostic biomarkers obtained before treatment are anticipated to predict the outcome after main treatment. Such biomarkers will help in planning strategies for adjustment of postoperative adjuvant therapy.[4]~Inflammation-induced markers play an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. More evidences had reported systemic inflammation-based biomarkers could be used to predict tumor behavior.[4] Two convenient and economic measures of systemic inflammation, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), that reflect the interaction between inflammation and host immune status, making them potential prognostic factors for various types of cancers. Increased NLR has been advocated to be an independent prognostic factor for poor survival outcomes in pancreatic cancer, CRC, and gastric cancer [5-6].~In this study, we aim to investigate the prognostic value of pre-treatment NLR in patients with locally advenced rectal cancer and post-treatment
In this study, we aim to investigate the prognostic value of pre-treatment NLR in patients with locally advenced rectal cancer and post-treatment