Objectives: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is approximately 20% of total lung cancer cases. A lot of prognostic factors have been identified in SCLC; however, new prognostic factors, which are separately assessed because of the frequency of the disease, rapid progression, and high mortality, are also required. Several recent studies have demonstrated that pretreatment prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with the prognosis in various malignancies. Methods: Patients with SCLC were enrolled in the study. The patient's pretreatment characteristics, hemoglobin, lymphocyte-neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, platelet, and albumin levels were recorded. The PNI was calculated based on the serum albumin concentration and peripheral blood lymphocyte count ([Albuminx10]+[Lymphocytex0.005]). NLR was calculated as peripheral neutrophil counts/lymphocyte counts. Results: Out of 81 patients, nine were female, while 72 patients were male. There was a significant survival difference between groups when patients divided into two groups with a cut-off value of 40 and 3.5 in terms of PNI and NLR, respectively. The median survivals were 3 and 13 months in low and high PNI groups, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be recommended to use PNI and NLR as independent prognostic markers for overall survival for patients with SCLC. Keywords: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, prognostic nutritional index, small-cell lung cancer
Corresponding Author: Hasan Sozel