Background: The association of preoperative red blood cell indexes in non-anemic patients undergoing lung resections for non-small-cell lung cancer with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) has never been investigated.
Methods: We retrospectively examined the impact of preoperative red blood cell indexes on RFS and OS and the relationships between the indexes and clinicopathological factors in lung cancer.
Results: A total of 649 patients were evaluated. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was showed as an independent prognostic factor in all patients for OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.697; 95% CI: 0.502-0.969; p = 0.032) and RFS (HR: 0.688; 95% CI: 0.519-0.914; p = 0.010). The mean corpuscular volume was an independent prognostic factor in all patients for OS (HR: 0.589; 95% CI: 0.380-0.912; p = 0.018), but not for RFS (HR: 0.684; 95% CI: 0.461-1.015; p = 0.059).
Conclusion: In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration is an independent prognostic factor for OS and RFS in non-small-cell lung cancer.
Keywords: MCHC; MCV; lung cancer; survival.