The Role of the Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio for Survival Outcomes in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Treated with Abiraterone

• Main Authors: Martin Boegemann, Katrin Schlack, Stefan Thomes, Julie Steinestel, Kambiz Rahbar, Axel Semjonow, Andres Jan Schrader, Martin Aringer, Laura-Maria Krabbe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; castration-resistant prostate cancer; prognostic biomarker; treatment response; abiraterone
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/2/380

The purpose of this study was to examine the prognostic capability of baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) and NLR-change under Abiraterone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients. The impact of baseline NLR and change after eight weeks of treatment on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier-estimates and Cox-regression. 79 men with baseline NLR <5 and 17 with NLR >5 were analyzed. In baseline analysis of PFS NLR >5 was associated with non-significantly shorter median PFS (five versus 10 months) (HR: 1.6 (95%CI:0.9–2.8); p = 0.11). After multivariate adjustment (MVA), ECOG > 0–1, baseline LDH>upper limit of normal (UNL) and presence of visceral metastases were independent prognosticators. For OS, NLR >5 was associated with shorter survival (seven versus 19 months) (HR: 2.3 (95%CI:1.3–4.0); p < 0.01). In MVA, ECOG > 0–1 and baseline LDH > UNL remained independent prognosticators. After 8 weeks of Abiraterone NLR-change to <5 prognosticated worse PFS (five versus 12 months) (HR: 4.1 (95%CI:1.1–15.8); p = 0.04). MVA showed a trend towards worse PFS for NLR-change to <5 (p = 0.11). NLR-change to <5 led to non-significant shorter median OS (seven versus 16 months) (HR: 2.3 (95%CI:0.7–7.1); p = 0.15). MVA showed non-significant difference for OS. We concluded baseline NLR <5 is associated with improved survival. In contrast, in patients with baseline NLR >5, NLR-change to <5 after eight weeks of Abiraterone was associated with worse survival and should be interpreted carefully.