Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a tyrosine-kinase inhibitors: A retrospective analysis in a series of western patients.

Abstract

e23045 Background: Several studies demonstrated that an elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) correlate with a poor prognosis both in early and advanced stage of NSCLC. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to investigate the correlation between NLR and prognosis in caucasian patients diagnosed with advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC and treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Methods: A retrospective database was used to identify consecutive patients diagnosed with advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC and treated with TKIs. From January 2011 to December 2015, 63 patients from five Institutions were enclosed in our series. NLR was derived from the absolute neutrophil and the absolute lymphocyte counts of a full blood count.Survival curves were calculated with Kaplan-Meier method and data were compared by log-rank test. Prognostic significance of NLR were assessed using a Cox regression analysis. Results: Sixty-three eligible patients were stratified according to the mean pretreatment NLR value (3.57 ± 2.42). The chosen cut-off for NLR was 3.5. Forty patients had NLR < 3.5 while 23 patients had a value of NLR > 3.5.A statistical significant difference, both in PFS and OS, was found in the NLR < 3.5 group compared with the higher NLR group (PFS: p < 0.01, OS: p < 0.05). According to univariate analysis, histological type (adenocarcinoma vs non-adenocarcinoma) and NLR value correlate significantly with PFS and OS. In Cox multivariate analysis, only NLR ³ 3.5 resulted significantly associated as independent prognostic factor for worse PFS (HR 2.275, 95% CI 1.257-4.116, p < 0.01) and OS (HR 2.699, 95% CI 1.187-6.137, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Pre-treatment NLR seems to represent a reliable, simple, and easy to reproduce, laboratory tool to predict survival and outcome to therapies in western caucasian EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients. Further prospective trials are needed to definitively confirm its prognostic and predictive role.