Clinical significance of the preoperative platelet count and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLT-PLR) in patients with surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of the preoperative platelet count (PLT) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed 202 patients treated for NSCLC between January 2002 and December 2007. Preoperative PLT and PLR scores were calculated using data obtained at the time of admission. Patients were assigned a PLT-PLR score of 0, 1, or 2 based upon the presence of thrombocytosis, an elevated PLR, or both.


RESULTS
Patients with a PLT-PLR score of 2 had a significantly lower median overall survival (OS) [12.715 mo; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.215-24.215] when compared with patients with PLT-PLR scores of 1 (52.238 mo; 95% CI 17.062-87.414, p = 0.002) or 0 (not reached, p < 0.001). Relapse-free survival (RFS) was also significantly decreased in patients with a PLT-PLR score of 2 (10.107 mo; 95% CI 3.388-16.826) relative to patients with a PLT-PLR score of 1 (27.214 mo; 95% CI 0-56.253, p = 0.002) or 0 (58.893 mo; 95% CI 32.938-84.848, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, a PLT-PLR score of 2 was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS (hazard ratio (HR) 3.473; 95% CI 1.765-6.835, p < 0.001) and RFS (HR 2.286; 95% CI 1.243-4.206, p = 0.008) compared with a PLT-PLR score of 0.


CONCLUSIONS
Preoperative PLT-PLR scores can be useful for predicting disease prognosis in patients with surgically resected NSCLC. Further large prospective studies will be necessary to validate our findings.
Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Republic of Korea.
Seok-Hyun
SH
Kim
Department of Pathology, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Republic of Korea.
Hyoun Wook
HW
Lee
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital, Changwon, Republic of Korea.|Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
Se-Il
SI
Go
Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea.
Soon Il
SI
Lee
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Republic of Korea.|Gyeongsang Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
Gyeong-Won
GW
Lee
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010976:Platelet Count; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
inflammation; non-small cell lung cancer; platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; prognosis; thrombocytosis