Prognostic significance of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing treatment with nivolumab for recurrent non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Aim: We investigated the prognostic potential of pretherapy measurement of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients (n = 56) with non-small-cell lung cancer deemed suitable for treatment with nivolumab. Material(s) and Method(s): This was a multicenter, noninterventional, retrospective data analysis, involving five oncology centers. Result(s): Patients with prenivolumab NLR values of <5 and >=5 had respective median overall survival (OS) values of 14.5 and 7.02 months (p = 0.0026). Patients with 2 metastatic sites had median OS values of 11.4 and 6.1 months, respectively (p = 0.0174). A Cox multiple regression model revealed baseline NLR >=5 as the only variable significantly associated with decreased OS (p < 0.0447). Conclusion(s): Pretreatment elevated NLR values are associated with poor outcomes in patients with recurrent metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab.Copyright © 2020 Rapoport BL.