Prognostic Impact of Prognostic Nutritional Index andNeutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Small-CellLung Cancer

Abstract

Objectives: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is approximately 20% of total lung cancer cases. A lot of prognostic factorshave been identified in SCLC; however, new prognostic factors, which are separately assessed because of the frequencyof the disease, rapid progression, and high mortality, are also required. Several recent studies have demonstrated thatpretreatment prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with the prognosisin various malignancies. Methods: Patients with SCLC were enrolled in the study. The patient's pretreatment characteristics, hemoglobin, lym phocyte-neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, platelet, and albumin levels were recorded. The PNI was calculated basedon the serum albumin concentration and peripheral blood lymphocyte count ([Albuminx10]+[Lymphocytex0.005]).NLR was calculated as peripheral neutrophil counts/lymphocyte counts. Results: Out of 81 patients, nine were female, while 72 patients were male. There was a significant survival differencebetween groups when patients divided into two groups with a cut-off value of 40 and 3.5 in terms of PNI and NLR,respectively. The median survivals were 3 and 13 months in low and high PNI groups, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be recommended to use PNI and NLR as independentprognostic markers for overall survival for patients with SCLC.