BACKGROUND

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is related to prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, no consensus on the relationship of pretreatment NLR and survival outcomes of systemic therapy in NSCLC exists. This meta-analysis investigated the prognostic role of pretreatment NLR during systemic therapy for NSCLC, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched up to April 09, 2019. Hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to investigate the association of pretreatment NLR with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

In total, 27 articles with 4,298 participants were selected. The pooled results showed that elevated pretreatment NLR was associated with inferior PFS (HR, 1.45, 95% CI, 1.28-1.66) and OS (HR, 1.63, 95% CI, 1.43-1.84) during systemic therapy. Subgroup analyses according to the treatment strategy suggested that higher pretreatment NLR was significantly associated with shorter survival in all therapies, including chemotherapy (PFS HR, 1.74, 95% CI, 1.39-2.17; OS HR, 1.73, 95% CI, 1.26-2.36), immunotherapy (PFS HR, 1.53, 95% CI, 1.27-1.84; OS HR, 2.50, 95% CI, 1.60-3.89) and targeted therapy (PFS HR, 1.53, 95% CI, 1.04-2.25; OS HR, 1.92, 95% CI, 1.14-3.24).

CONCLUSIONS

Pretreatment NLR is a promising prognostic indicator for NSCLC patients receiving systemic therapy, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.