Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen

The following is a summary of “Prognostic impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on patients with small cell lung cancer receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the December 2024 issue of Pulmonology by Zhao et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the prognostic roles of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) in survival outcomes of patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) and receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.  

They performed a systematic search across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was utilized to evaluate study quality. Meta-analysis was carried out using random-effects and fixed-effects models, and sensitivity analysis was also performed.  

The results showed 11 studies with 3,634 patients with SCLC were included. High NLR was associated with significantly lower overall survival (OS), (HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.18–1.59, P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.27–1.78, P < 0.001). No significant difference in OS was found between high and low PLR groups (HR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.84–1.43, P = 0.265). Subgroup analysis revealed significantly lower OS in the high NLR group across different strata and lower OS in the high PLR group among patients on limited stage of SCLC and those with a PLR cutoff < 160.  

Investigators concluded the high NLR was associated with worse OS and progression-free survival in patients with SCLC receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, while the impact of PLR on survival varied depending on patient characteristics and the chosen cutoff value. 

Source: bmcpulmmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12890-024-03447-2