Prognostic Value of C-Reactive Protein-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Combined Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy for Small Cell...

Inflammatory indexes are emerging as sensible prognostic factors for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, the prognostic value of dynamic C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio (CLR) in SCLC patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy remains unclear.

This retrospective study investigated 88 SCLC patients who underwent chemoimmunotherapy between January 1^st, 2020 and December 12^th 2022. We examined the association between CLR and prognostic outcomes after chemoimmunotherapy. The associations between objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS) with changes in blood indicators were also analyzed.

Patients with decreased CLR had significantly higher ORR, with odds ratios of 3.91 (P<0.05) and 3.19 (P<0.05) in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that decreased CLR was associated with prolonged PFS (P=0.02). Additionally, a CLR higher than 2.47 after treatment was associated with poor survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses.

Dynamic CLR can serve as a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis of SCLC patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy. Reduction of CLR after chemoimmunotherapy is associated with a significantly higher ORR and improved PFS.