A retrospective evaluation of associations between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smoking, and efficacy of chemotherapy and selected laboratory parameters in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Aim of the studyTo was to determine the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and active smoking on the efficacy of chemotherapy and complete blood count (CBC) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Material and methodsThe retrospective evaluation included 50 patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLC, who started cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Peripheral blood CBC values were collected for testing before chemotherapy and after the first and third cycles.ResultsCOPD was diagnosed in 49% of patients, while 42% of those enrolled were current smokers. Current smoking (p = 0.92) and COPD (p = 0.91) status did not affect the response to treatment. The non-COPD population presented a significantly higher pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) than the COPD population (2.31 vs. 1.81 × 109/l; p = 0.0374). Also, only the non-COPD group demonstrated an elevated absolute monocyte count (AMC) following the first and third cycles of chemotherapy (p = 0.004). In current smokers, pretreatment values for white blood cells (WBC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and platelets (PLT) were higher than in the ex-smoker population (WBC 9.94 vs. 8.7 (× 109/l); p = 0.01; ANC 6.47 vs. 5.61 (× 109/l); p = 0.037; PLT 316 vs. 266 (× 109/l); p = 0.049). Ex-smokers demonstrated AMC level elevation after the first cycle of chemotherapy and PLT level elevation after the third cycle, while current smokers also demonstrated an early decrease in LMR.ConclusionsCOPD and smoking induce chronic systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, which influence the results of standard laboratory tests, but do not change the response rate of lung cancer on chemotherapy.