title: Elevated platelets enhance cancer cell migration, promote hematogenous metastasis and associate with a poor prognosis in advanced non-small cell lung cancer cases.
abstract: Although correlations between platelets and lung cancer has been recognized, effects on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastasis remain to be determined in detail. In the present study, wound healing assays revealed a role of platelets in NSCLC cell migration . Thus the mean migration rate of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells was significantly elevated after co-culture with platelets (81.7±0.45% vs 41.0±3.50%, P<0.01). Expression of GAPDH was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to study the effect of platelets on NSCLC cell proliferation. The result showed that the proliferation of A549 and SPC-A1 cells was not affected. Mouse models were established by transfusing A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells into mice lateral tail veins. We found tumor metastasis nodules in lungs to be increased significantly after co-transfusion with platelets (in A549, 4.33±0.33 vs 0.33±0.33, P=0.01; in SPC-A1, 2.67±0.33 vs 0.00±0.00, P=0.01). In addition, consecutive inoperable patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC (TNM stage III or IV) between January 2009 and December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, NSCLC patients with a high platelet counts demonstrated a significantly shorter progression free survival compared with those with a low platelet count (>200x109/L, 3 months versus ≤200x109/L, 5 months, P=0.001). An elevated platelet count was also identified as an independent prognostic factor by Cox regression analysis for prgression free survival (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.46; P=0.006). This study suggested that platelets might contribute to the hematogenous metastatic process by promoting cancer cell migration, which eventually affects the prognosis of NSCLC.
authors: Department of Respiratory Medicine, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China E-mail : yanli_med@nju.edu.cn.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Li-Yun
authors: LY
authors: Miao
authors: Yong-Long
authors: YL
authors: Xiao
authors: Hou-Rong
authors: HR
authors: Cai
authors: De-Ping
authors: DP
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary*; D002465:Cell Movement; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D010976:Platelet Count; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured