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Prognostic value of chemotherapy-induced leukopenia in small-cell lung cancer
Wei Liu1, Cui-Cui Zhang, Kai Li
1Department of Thoracic Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Treatment of Tianjin City, Tianjin Lung Cancer Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
Objective:
Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), and leukopenia is a common side effect. This study assesses whether chemotherapy-induced leukopenia is a predictor of efficacy and whether it is associated with the survival of SCLC patients.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 445 patients with SCLC who received standard chemotherapy for 4 to 10 cycles. The World Health Organization grading system classifies leukopenia during chemotherapy as follows: absent (grade 0), mild (grades 1 and 2), or severe (grades 3 and 4). The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS).
Results:
The association between chemotherapy-induced leukopenia and OS was assessed. According to a multivariate Cox model with time-varying covariates, the hazard ratio of death was significantly lower among patients with mild leukopenia than among patients with severe leukopenia at 0.687 (0.506 to 0.943) and 1.414 (1.147 to 1.744), respectively. The median survival was 13 months (95% CI: 11 to 15 months) for patients who did not experience leukopenia, 17 months (95% CI: 14 to 18 months) for those with mild leukopenia, and 14 months (95% CI: 13 to 16 months) for those with severe leukopenia (absent vs. mild vs. severe leukopenia, P=0.047).
Conclusion:
Leukopenia during chemotherapy is associated with the survival of SCLC patients. Mild leukopenia is strongly associated with longer survival time.