Abstract
Background: The importance of the negative lymph node (NLN) count has recently attracted attention. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of NLN count in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after radical surgery by constructing NLN-based prognostic models. Methods: This study included 33 756 patients pooled from the case listing session of the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2004 to 2015 and 545 patients collected from The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University between 2012 and 2016. X-tile software was used to calculate the optimal cutoff value for the NLN count. The associated clinical factors were determined using univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. Nomograms were developed using the SEER database and validated using hospital data. Results: The training cohort was divided into high and low NLN count subgroups based on the cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that NLN count was an independent prognostic factor, and the high NLN count subgroup had better CSS and OS than those of the low NLN count subgroup (HR = 0.632, 95% CI 0.551-0.724, P < .001 for CSS and HR = 0.641, 95% CI 0.571-0.720, P < .001 for OS). Nomograms were established, exhibiting good discrimination ability with a C-index of 0.789 (95% CI 0.778 -0.798) for CSS and 0.704 (95% CI, 0.694 -0.714) for OS. The calibration plots of the validation cohorts showed optimal agreement with the training cohort, with a C-index of 0.681 (95% CI 0.646 -0.716) for CSS and 0.645 (95% CI 0.614 -0.676) for OS. Conclusions: NLN count is a strong prognostic factor for OS and CSS in NSCLC patients and the prognostic model provides a useful risk stratification for NSCLC patients when applied to clinical practice.