BackgroundInflammation-based prognostic scores are associated with tumor recurrence and survival in various cancers. The aim of this study was to identify the significance of inflammation-based prognostic scores and to detect the most useful score in patients with distal extrahepatic bile duct cancer after pancreaticoduodenectomy. MethodsBetween 2000 and 2015, 121 patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. The relationship between clinicopathological variables including various prognostic scores and disease-free (DFS) as well as overall (OS) survival was investigated by univariate analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was calculated to compare the predictive ability of each scoring system. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the clinicopathological variables associated. ResultsIn univariate analysis, Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), mGPS, C-reactive protein/Alb ratio score, prognostic index, and preoperative monocyte count were significant risk factors for both DFS and OS. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of GPS is consistently larger in comparison with other four scores in both DFS as well as OS. In multivariate analysis, GPS was an independent risk factor of both tumor recurrence and poor prognosis. ConclusionsGPS score is an independent tumor recurrence and prognostic factor in patients with distal extrahepatic bile duct cancer and is superior to the other prognostic scores.