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Objectives: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proposed as an indicator of cancer-related inflammation. The aim of our study was to examine the prognostic value of the NLR for patients with advanced gastric cancer receiving second-line chemotherapy. Methods: The association of overall survival (OS) in second-line chemotherapy and the clinicopathological findings including NLR were analyzed retrospectively. The selection criteria were patients who received second-line chemotherapy between January 2010 and June 2015, had histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma, and were followed up until death or for 180 days or longer. Results: Eighty-six patients met the selection criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that performance status 2, hemoglobin < 10 g/dL, and NLR before first-line chemotherapy ≥3 were adverse predictive markers. NLR before second-line chemotherapy was not associated with OS. A prognostic model was constructed dividing patients into three groups according to the number of adverse predictive factors: good (no factor), intermediate (one factor), and poor (more than two factors). The median OS for the good, intermediate, and poor groups was 14.3, 7.2, and 4.4 months, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Patients with advanced gastric cancer with performance status 2, hemoglobin < 10 g/dL, and NLR before first-line chemotherapy ≥3 are not likely to benefit from second-line chemotherapy.

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post-ERCP cholangitis. Clinical, microbiological, and procedural data were collected from the patients' electronic medical records. The relationship between each clinical feature and post-ERCP cholangitis was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of 376 patients with acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis, 200 consecutive patients meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Among these, 23 (11.5%) received the diagnosis of post-ERCP cholangitis. In multivariate analysis, a duration of ≥ 11 days from biliary drainage to endoscopic stone extraction (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 8.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.68-27.50) and the use of endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (aOR 6.04; 95% CI, 1.88-19.40) were identified as independent risk factors of post-ERCP cholangitis. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of post-ERCP cholangitis can be reduced by performing endoscopic stone extraction as soon as the patient achieves clinical stability after biliary stent insertion and by using endoscopic sphincterotomy instead of endoscopic papillary balloon dilation.