Lung immune prognostic index as a prognostic predictor in patients with advanced small cell lung cancer

Aims: Identifying prognostic markers in advanced small-cell lung cancer (A-SCLC) patients is important. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) in A-SCLC. Methods: This was a retrospective and observational study of A-SCLC patients treated with platinum plus etoposide chemotherapy as first-line treatment. The association of LIPI with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was analysed. Results: One hundred eighteen patients were included in this study and divided into three groups LIPI 0 (n=27, 22.9%), LIPI 1 (n=57, 48.3%) and LIPI 2 (n=34, 28.8%). The median PFS of LIPI groups (0/1/2) was 8.9 (95% CI 3.83-13.96), 8 (95% CI 6.41-9.58), and 5.6 (95% CI 4.60-6.60) months, respectively (p=0.1) The median OS of LIPI groups (0/1/2) was 12 (95% CI 9.11-14.88), 10.1 (95% CI 9.16-11.03), and 7.7 (95% CI 6.55-8.84) months, respectively (p=0.02). Cox regression analysis revealed that LIPI 2 score was an independent risk factor for both PFS (HR 1.839, 95% CI: 1.075-3.144, p=0.02) and OS (HR 1.757, 95% CI: 1.006-3.071, p=0.04). Conclusion: LIPI score can be used as a simple and easily accessible marker to predict prognosis for A-SCLC patients.