Aim: To assess the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) and explore the value of NLR as an indicator in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with RetroNectin®-activated cytokine-induced killer (R-CIK) cells.
Patients & methods: Using data gathered from a single center between January 2010 and June 2015, 201 patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC receiving at least four cycles of R-CIK cell therapy were included. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations of NLR with TTP and OS.
Results: The pretreatment NLR was correlated with TTP and OS. Multivariate analysis showed that NLR was an independent factor for survival.
Conclusion: NLR was an independent indicator to predict benefit from R-CIK-based combination therapy.
Keywords: RetroNectin; advanced; cytokine-induced killer cells; lung cancer; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; non-small cell.