Prognostic value of HALP score in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with first-line chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy: a real-world retrospective study.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with platinum-containing chemotherapy are the standard first-line therapy for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, individualization varies widely, there is still a lack of effective biomarkers to predict prognosis. A total of 147 patients participated in this study. Patients were enumerated for baseline laboratory parameters (including hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocytes, and platelets) and HALP scores were calculated. And the optimal cutoff value (27.05) was determined by x-tile software. Accordingly, they were divided into high HALP and low HALP to explore the relationship with progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). To evaluate the extent of baseline imbalance between the two HALP groups, we performed inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis using a binary logistic regression model that included all baseline covariates. All patients have an ECOG score of 0-1, and 90 patients (61.2%) have a positive PD-L1 expression. Based on the optimal threshold value of 27.05, we categorized all patients into low HALP (n = 53) and high HALP (n = 94) groups. The group of high HALP had better mPFS (5.67 vs. 5.13 months, p = 0.032) and mOS than low HALP (32.67 vs. 17.60 months, p = 0.028). Univariate analysis showed that the HALP score was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.033, HR = 0.686; 95% CI: 0.484-0.971), and the results of multivariate analysis also showed that HALP had a significant influence. The HALP score has the potential to be a prognostic marker in NSCLC patients receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.