Initial platelet-to-lymphocyte count as prognostic factor in limited-stage small cell lung cancer

Aim: To assessed the prognostic significance of pretreatment platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 286 patients with LS-SCLC. Results: Sixty received chemotherapy alone, 158 sequential chemo-and radiotherapy, 38 concurrent chemo-and radiotherapy and 30 surgery combined with therapy. The cut-off value of pretreatment PLR was 152.1. The median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the low and high PLR groups were 27.4 versus 19.5 (p = 0.002) and 14.9 versus 11.4 (p = 0.003) months. Multivariate analysis confirmed that PLR was an independent prognostic factor of OS (hazard ratio = 1.326; p = 0.040) and PFS (hazard ratio = 1.306; p = 0.044), respectively. Conclusion: Pretreatment PLR is an independent prognostic factor of OS and PFS in patients with LS-SCLC.