The prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied for colorectal cancer. Elderly patients in general tend to have comorbidities and decreased organ function that potentially influence the NLR score. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between NLR and cancer-specific survival in elderly patients with colon cancer, using a propensity scorematched analysis. Patients and Methods: A total of 203 patients aged over 75 years who underwent curative resection for colon cancer and were diagnosed pathologically with stage II/III disease were eligible for entry to the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to NLR score: NLR-High (NLR≥4.5) group (NLR-H, n=60) and NLR-Low (NLR<4.5) group (NLR-L, n=143). After propensity score matching, 57 patients in each group were matched. Results: Before matching, Charlson comorbidity index was significantly higher in the NLR-H group (4 vs 2, p<0.001). After matching, all factors were similar between the groups. The median follow-up period was 43 months (range, 1-160 months). Fiveyear relapse-free-survival (69.8% vs 87.3%, p=0.030) and cancer-specific survival (83.0% vs 96.0%, p=0.042) were significantly lower in the NLR-H group. Conclusion: NLR appears to be a cancer-specific prognostic marker in elderly patients with colon cancer.

Gustave Roussy Immune (GRIm) score is prognostic marker in various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between GRIm score and short-and long-term outcomes in elderly patients with colon cancer. MethodsPatients aged ≥ 75 years who underwent colectomy between 2008 and 2019 were eligible in the study.Patients were divided into high GRIm (GRIm-H, score 1-3) and low GRIm (GRIm-L, score 0) groups. ResultsA total of 430 patients were enrolled (GRIm-H, n = 126; GRIm-L, n = 304). High GRIm score was an independent predictive factor for postoperative complications (odds ratio, 4.146; 95%CI, 2.536-6.777; p < 0.001). Median follow-up was 42 months (range, 1-160 months). Five-year relapse-free survival (GRIm-H, 79.3% vs. GRIm-L, 92.7%; p = 0.001), overall survival (76.0% vs. 92.2%, p = 0.001), and non-cancer-speci c survival (84.7% vs. 94.6%, p = 0.003) were lower in the GRIm-H group. Multivariate analysis revealed high GRIm as an independent predictive factor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 2.875; 95%CI, 1.451-5.698; p = 0.002) and non-cancer-speci c survival (hazard ratio, 3.650; 95%CI,; p = 0.001). ConclusionsGRIm score is useful for predicting postoperative complications and non-cancer cause of death in elderly patients, and might be suitable as a surrogate marker for selecting candidates for surgery or perioperative treatment.

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To meet a surgeon's need to compare the physical properties of conventional surgical spring forceps (tweezers), a hydraulic-driven system (HDS) based on syringes and syringe pumps is used for driving a left-right symmetrical lever linkage system of a testing device. Furthermore, by using an Arduino microcontroller and four load cells, a simple real-time feedback control system was built to digitally control the operating tweezers in the bar parts and monitor the forces on the jaw side of a surgical tweezers. Then, the same models of surgical tweezers from two different manufacturers were tested with the following test items: (1) the transmission relationship between the input side (bar area) and the output side (jaw side), (2) the contact pressure between the input side and the output side (tested using a Fujifilm Prescale System), (3) the horizontal friction on the jaw side, (4) the horizontal friction in the pinch bar area, and (5) the vertical friction in the pinch bar area. Finally, by analyzing the test results, the performances of the two surgical tweezers were compared and evaluated.

Background The prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied for several cancers, including colon cancer. Elderly patients in general tend to have comorbidities, poor performance status, and decreased organ function that potentially influence the NLR score. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between NLR and cancer prognosis in elderly patients with colon cancer, using a propensity score-matched analysis. Methods A total of 203 patients aged over 75 years who underwent curative resection for colon cancer and were diagnosed pathologically with stage II/III disease were eligible for entry to the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to NLR score: NLR-High (NLR ≥ 4.5) group (NLR-H, n = 60) and NLR-Low (NLR < 4.5) group (NLR-L, n = 143). After propensity score matching, 57 patients in each group were matched. Results Before matching, ASA-PS (p = 0.002) and the presence of comorbidities (80.0% vs. 58.1%, p = 0.003) were significantly poor in the NLR-H group. After matching, all factors were similar between the groups. The median follow-up period was 43 months (range, 1–160 months). The 5-year RFS was significantly lower in the NLR-H group (65.6% vs. 85.8%, p = 0.001) after matching. The 5-year relapse-free-survival (69.8% vs. 87.3%, p = 0.030) and cancer-specific-survival (83.0% vs. 96.0%, p = 0.042) were significantly lower in the NLR-H group. Conclusions NLR appears to be a prognostic marker in elderly patients with colon cancer.