Association of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio with survival in peripheral early-stage non-small cell lung cancer after stereotactic body radiation therapy

BACKGROUND: The role of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a predictor for survival in single fraction SBRT-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients remains unclear. We performed an observational cohort study to determine the role of pretreatment NLR in predicting survival of early-stage NSCLC patients after single fraction SBRT. METHODS: A single-institution database of peripheral early-stage NSCLC patients treated with SBRT from February 2007 to May 2022 was queried. Optimal threshold of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was defined based on maximally selected rank statistics. Cox multivariable analysis (MVA), Kaplan–Meier, and propensity score matching were performed to evaluate outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 286 patients were included for analysis with median follow up of 19.7 months. On Cox multivariate analysis, as a continuous variable, NLR was shown to be an independent predictor of OS (adjusted hazards ratio [aHR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.02–1.10, p = 0.005) and PFS (aHR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.09, p = 0.013). In addition, NLR was associated with DF (aHR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05–1.18, p < 0.001). Maximally selected rank statistics determined 3.28 as the cutoff point of high NLR versus low NLR. These findings were confirmed upon propensity matching. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment NLR is an independent predictor for survival outcomes of peripheral early-stage NSCLC patients after single fraction SBRT. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-023-10719-3.