The prognostic impact of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with small-cell lung cancer

• Published in: British journal of cancer Vol. 111; no. 3; pp. 452 - 460
• Main Authors: Kang, M H, Go, S-I, Song, H-N, Lee, A, Kim, S-H, Kang, J-H, Jeong, B-K, Kang, K M, Ling, H, Lee, G-W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.07.2014; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/250/256; 692/53/2422; 692/699/67/1612/2143; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Clinical Study; Disease-Free Survival; Drug Resistance; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - immunology; Lung Neoplasms - mortality; Lymphocyte Count; Lymphocytes - immunology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Molecular Medicine; Multiple tumors. Solid tumors. Tumors in childhood (general aspects); Multivariate Analysis; Neutrophils - immunology; Oncology; Platelet Count; Pneumology; Prognosis; Proportional Hazards Models; Retrospective Studies; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma - drug therapy; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma - immunology; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma - mortality; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; overall survival; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Human; Lung disease; Prognosis; Respiratory disease; Lung cancer; Bonchopulmonary small cell carcinoma; Granulocyte; Malignant tumor; Survival; Platelet; Cancerology; Bronchus disease; Neutrophil; Lymphocyte; Cancer
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2014.317

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are prognostic factors for various types of cancer. In this study, we assessed the association of NLR and PLR with the prognosis of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) in patients who received the standard treatment. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who were diagnosed with SCLC and treated with platinum-based chemotherapy between July 2006 and October 2013 in Gyeongsang National University Hospital Regional Cancer Center and Changwon Samsung Hospital. Results: In total, 187 patients were evaluated. Compared with low NLR (<4), high NLR (⩾4) at diagnosis was associated with poor performance status, advanced stage, and lower response rate. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were worse in the high-NLR group (high vs low, 11.17 vs 9.20 months, P =0.019 and 6.90 vs 5.49 months, P =0.005, respectively). In contrast, PLR at diagnosis was not associated with OS or PFS ( P =0.467 and P =0.205, respectively). In multivariate analysis, stage, lactate dehydrogenase, and NLR at diagnosis were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS. Conclusions: NLR is easily measurable and reflects the SCLC prognosis. A future prospective study is warranted to confirm our results.