Lymphocyte count or percentage: which can better predict the prognosis of advanced cancer patients following palliative care?

BACKGROUND: The lymphocytes played an important role in the natural history of cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic value of lymphocyte count and percentage for survival in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care. METHODS: A retrospective review of clinicopathological data from 378 consecutive advanced cancer patients and 106 extended follow-up patients treated with palliative care was conducted. Kaplan–Meier curves and multivariate cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships of peripheral lymphocyte count (LC) and lymphocyte to white blood cell ratio (LWR) with overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The median values for pretreatment LC and LWR were 1.1 (IQR, 0.8 ~ 1.5 × 10(9)/L) and 0.138 (IQR, 0.086 ~ 0.208). The median survival times across LWR quartiles were 19, 47, 79, and 101 days (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that patients in the highest quartiles of LC and LWR had an HR of 1.082 (95% CI 0.777 ~ 1.506, P = 0.642) and 0.466 (95% CI 0.328 ~ 0.661, P < 0.001), respectively, compared with patients in the lowest quartiles. Furthermore, only the dynamic changes of LWR were confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival during the follow-up (HR = 0.396, 95% CI 0.243 ~ 0.668; P = 0.001), as were primary tumor site and ECOG. No effect was observed for the dynamic changes of LC. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that measurement of the dynamic changes of LWR prior to treatment and during follow-up may represent a simple and new powerful prognostic factor for patients with advanced cancer, unlike measurement of LC. As a bedside marker of immune status, the prognostic role of LWR should be further evaluated in prospective studies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-017-3498-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.