Thrombocytosis as a Prognostic Marker of Survival in Patients with Head and Neck Tumors

Abstract

Objectives:The correlation between cancer-related thrombocytosis and worse survival has been described with a variety of solid neoplasms. However, only limited data are available on the prognostic significance of thrombocytosis in patients with head and neck tumors.We aimed to investigate the association between the survival of patients with head and neck cancer and the elevated platelet count. Methods:We conducted an analysis of the data from 339 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of various stages and locations. Preoperative platelet counts were analysed; thrombocytosis was defined as 300 G/L or higher. The influence of platelet count on survival was calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, as well as with multivariate Cox regression. Results:In patients with excessive thrombocytosis, survival was significantly worse even after adjusting the multivariate analysis for gender, age, as well as tumor stage, grade, and location. The magnitude of thrombocytosis differed among tumors of different anatomical location. Conclusion:Thrombocytosis may be related to a worse survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. The impact of elevated platelet count appears to vary with the anatomical location of the tumor -this feature may be worth further investigation.include conventional haematological indices such as Complete