Inflammatory status and prognosis of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Parameters determined in blood tests are useful for physicians in diagnosis and of clinical management in different medical settings. Among the many different blood test parameters, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), defined as the ratio between the absolute neutrophil count and the absolute lymphocyte count, is becoming to attract increasing attention. NLR is a parameter easy to determine and low cost that is being associated with prognosis in various pathologies (1). Recently, an interesting article reported the prognosis power of NLR for overall survival (OS) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients diagnosed and treated in locally advanced stage (stages IIIA and IIIB) (2).