Prognostic Significance of Red Cell Distribution Width in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a parameter reported in blood routine examination, and has been reported as an inflammatory biomarker. The objective of this study was to investigate the significance of RDW in NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations. METHODS The clinical data of 102 patients with NSCLC who underwent radical resection surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from December 2012 to November 2017 were collected. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the effect of RDW on survival. RESULTS The RDW levels were divided into two groups: high RDW (≥ 13.1%), n = 47 vs. low RDW, n = 55 (< 13.1%). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant associations of high RDW values with smoking history and brain metastasis. Forty-seven patients with elevated RDW levels had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) than 55 patients with normal RDW levels (264 vs. 310 days, p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS RDW is associated with several factors that reflect inflammation and malnutrition in lung cancer patients. Moreover, high levels of RDW are associated with poor survival.