Summary of patient characteristics
| Patient characteristics | Training set: cohort 1 | Validation set: cohort 2 | P value* |
| Total (n=123) | Total (n=99) | ||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 68.8 (8.6) | 68.2 (10.0) | 0.62 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.75 | ||
| Female | 30 (24.4) | 26 (26.3) | |
| Male | 93 (75.6) | 73 (73.7) | |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 21.9 (3.9) | 22.3 (3.9) | 0.36 |
| Smoking, n (%) | 0.44 | ||
| Former | 95 (77.2) | 81 (81.8) | |
| Never | 27 (22.0) | 18 (18.2) | |
| Unknown | 1 (0.8) | – | |
| Stages, n (%) | 0.04 | ||
| Stage III | 26 (21.1) | 11 (11.1) | |
| Stage IV | 73 (59.3) | 74 (74.7) | |
| Recurrence/metastasis | 24 (19.5) | 14 (14.1) | |
| Histology, n (%) | 0.03 | ||
| Non-squamous | 89 (72.4) | 64 (64.6) | |
| Squamous | 34 (27.6) | 30 (30.3) | |
| Others | – | 5 (5.1) | |
| Driver mutation, n (%) | 0.39 | ||
| Wild type | 104 (84.6) | 83 (83.8) | |
| EGFR | 18 (14.6) | 13 (13.1) | |
| ALK | 1 (0.8) | 3 (3.0) | |
| Tumor PD-L1 expression, n (%) | <0.01 | ||
| <1% | 44 (35.8) | 18 (18.2) | |
| 1%–49% | 32 (26.0) | 41 (41.4) | |
| >50% | 47 (38.2) | 30 (30.3) | |
| Unknown | – | 10 (10.1) | |
| Treatment line, n (%) | <0.01 | ||
| First line | 51 (41.5) | 65 (65.7) | |
| Second line | 49 (39.8) | 17 (17.2) | |
| Third line | 13 (10.6) | 6 (6.1) | |
| Further lines | 10 (8.1) | 11 (11.1) | |
| ECOG PS, n (%) | 0.03 | ||
| 0–1 | 99 (80.5) | 90 (90.9) | |
| 2–3 | 24 (19.5) | 9 (9.1) | |
| Metastasis, n (%) | |||
| Brain | 16 (13.0) | 16 (16.2) | 0.34 |
| Liver | 19 (15.5) | 12 (12.1) | 0.33 |
| Treatment option, n (%) | <0.01 | ||
| Monotherapy | 96 (78.1) | 34 (34.3) | |
| Combination therapy | 27 (22.0) | 65 (65.7) | |
| Blood test, mean (SD) | |||
| baseline | |||
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.44 (0.60) | 3.54 (0.60) | 0.22 |
| NLR | 5.07 (3.75) | 6.41 (6.43) | 0.07 |
| 6 weeks after treatment | |||
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.42 (0.68) | 3.64 (0.59) | 0.02 |
| NLR | 4.48 (4.74) | 4.85 (8.89) | 0.73 |
| Best clinical response (RECIST), n (%) | 0.15 | ||
| Partial response | 43 (35.0) | 34 (34.3) | |
| Stable disease | 30 (24.4) | 34 (34.3) | |
| Progressive disease | 47 (38.2) | 26 (26.3) | |
| Unknown | 3 (2.4) | 5 (5.1) | |
| Progression-free survival (days), median (95% Cl)† | 113 (84 to 196) | 169 (140 to 233) | 0.55 |
| Overall survival (days), median (95% CI)† | 404 (347 to 552) | 682 (359 to undefined) | 0.22 |
*Continuous variables: t-test; categorical variables: χ2; survival time: log rank test.
†Kaplan-Meier method.
ALK, anaplastic lymphoma kinase; BMI, body mass index; ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; NLR, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; RECIST, Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors.