Background: Immune-enhancing nutrition (IMN) strengthens the systematic inflammatory response and the immune system. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) are affected during cancer therapies.
Objective: We carried out an analysis of the dynamic changes in NLR and ALC over time in cancer patients with or without IMN supplementation.
Methods: 88 cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) were randomized into regular diet group, and regular diet and IMN group.Generalized estimation equation models were used to assess associations between patient's characteristics, IMN, and dynamic changes in NLR and ALC over time.
Results: NLR and ALC at pre-CCRT were significantly associated with dynamic changes in NLR (adjusted β= 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64-1.52) and ALC (adjusted β= 0.41, 95% CI: 0.36-0.46). The magnitudes of the NLR and ALC changes through CCRT were lower in patients receiving IMN, although the differences were not statistically significant except ALC at the end of CCRT in head and neck cancer patients (P= 0.023).
Conclusion: Dynamic negative changes in both markers were demonstrated throughout CCRT. There were non-significant trend in promising changes in both NLR and ALC values in the whole group in IMN supplementation.
Keywords: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy; absolute lymphocyte count; cancer; immune-enhancing nutrition; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio.