Prognostic impact of thrombocytosis in resectable non-small cell lung cancer

Relationship between thrombocytosis and poor prognosis has been reported in lung cancer. However, the majority of previous studies included many advanced stage and small cell lung cancer patients. Few studies focused on resectable non-small cell lung cancer patients. In the present study, therefore, consecutive 240 non-small cell lung cancer patients who received surgical resection were reviewed retrospectively, and investigated the survival impact of preoperative platelet count. In our results, the frequency of preoperative thrombocytosis was only 5.83% (14/240). The 5-year survival of patients with and without thrombocytosis was 28.87% and 63.73%, respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses indicated the independent prognostic impact of thrombocytosis. The present study is the first evaluation of prognostic effect of thrombocytosis in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer. Preoperative platelet count was a prognostic factor for resectable non-small cell lung cancer patients.