Prognostic value of diffuse cancer inflammation index (ALI), serum neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte (PLR) in advanced-stage lung cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer that causes death worldwide. Systemic inflammation has been shown to play a role in cancer etiopathogenesis and can be activated from oncogenic changes in cancer cells. In our study, the prognostic effects of inflammatory parameters calculated from serum were investigated in lung cancer. Method: One hundred fifteen patients with locally advanced and advanced lung cancer who were diagnosed in our chest diseases clinic between 2013 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The relationship between advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI index), serum neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) levels at the time of diagnosis were calculated, and their relationship with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival, and the treatment response and their effect on predicting prognosis were investigated. Findings: When the ALI value was examined in the group with non-small cell lung, the OS was found to be 9.018 months in the group over 18 years of age and it was 3.78 months in the group below. Low ALI index was significantly associated with short survival (P <.05). When the NLR values were examined in the entire patient group, OS more than 5 was 5.95 months and less than 9.63 months. A high NLR value was significantly associated with short survival (P <.05). No significant relationships were detected between PLR and OS. When the determined cut-off values were used, no significant correlation was found between NLR, ALI, and PLR levels and progression-free survival (P >.05). Conclusion: In our study, it was concluded that elevated NLR levels and low ALI values at the time of diagnosis of advanced-stage lung cancer were associated with poor survival, and those values may be useful in predicting survival and prognosis when the cut-off values were used. These parameters can be useful in routine use because they can be easily calculated without additional costs.