PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

The value of red blood cell distribution width, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and hemoglobin-to-red blood cell distribution width ratio in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer.

  • Jin-Liang Chen,
  • Jin-Nan Wu,
  • Xue-Dong Lv,
  • Qi-Chang Yang,
  • Jian-Rong Chen,
  • Dong-Mei Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237947
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 8
p. e0237947

Abstract

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BackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for 85% of all lung cancer cases. Inflammation has been proven to be one of the characteristics of malignant tumors. Chronic inflammatory response mediated by cytokines in the tumor microenvironment is an important factor in tumorigenesis. The purpose of this study was to observe and evaluate the value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and hemoglobin-to-red blood cell distribution width ratio (HRR) in the progression of NSCLC.MethodsA total of 245 patients with NSCLC, 97 patients with benign pulmonary nodules, and 94 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Factors, such as age, gender, smoking history, histological type, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, TNM stage, and differentiation degree were statistically analyzed. The correlation of RDW, NLR, and HRR of patients with NSCLC with other clinical experimental parameters were also analyzed. Then, the diagnostic value of RDW, NLR, and HRR in the progression of NSCLC was evaluated.ResultsRDW, NLR, and HRR could be used to distinguish patients with NSCLC from healthy controls (p ConclusionRDW, NLR, and HRR can be utilized as simple and effective biomarkers for the diagnosis and evaluation of NSCLC progression.