Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio as Prognostic Markers for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Immunotherapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background and

Objectives: Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has led to a high number of mortalities. Immunotherapy, as a first-line treatment in advanced NSCLC, currently has no clarity regarding its prognostic markers to assess the treatment outcome. This systematic review aimed to evaluate neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as prognostic markers in advanced NSCLC patients treated with immunotherapy. Materials and

Methods: This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines, starting from screening for relevant studies from several databases. Each included cohort study was further assessed by using the Newcastle−Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale, and the available data were extracted for qualitative and quantitative synthesis in pooled and subgroup analysis.

Results: A total of 1719 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Hazard ratio (HR) outcomes for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for NLR and PLR showed significant results, supporting NLR and PLR as prognostic markers (NLR: HR PFS 2.21 [95% CI: 1.50−3.24; p < 0.0001] and HR OS 2.68 [95% CI: 2.24−3.6; p < 0.0001]; PLR: HR PFS 1.57 [95% CI: 1.33−1.84; p < 0.00001] and HR OS 2.14 [95% CI: 1.72−2.67; p < 0.00001]). Subgroup analysis with a cut-off value of 5 for NLR and 200 for PLR also demonstrated notable outcomes. Higher NLR and PLR levels are associated with poor prognostic.

Conclusions: There is considerable evidence regarding both markers as prognostic markers in NSCLC patients treated with immunotherapy. However, further studies with more homogeneous baseline characteristics are required to confirm these findings.