Thrombocytosis as a Useful Prognostic Indicator in Patients with Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND: Thrombocytosis can accompany various cancers including lung cancer. This finding has recently been suggested to indicate poor prognosis. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined the clinical records of 611 patients with lung cancer to investigate whether there is a correlation between thrombocytosis, other clinicopathologic factors, and survival. RESULTS: Ninety-eight of the patients (16%) manifested thrombocytosis at the time of their first evaluation at our hospital. Thrombocytosis and age (p = 0.0006) and thrombocytosis and performance status (p = 0.0002) are significantly correlated, but thrombocytosis is not related to gender, tumor histology, clinical stage, or serum lactate dehydrogenase concentrations. Survival is significantly shorter in patients with thrombocytosis: [median survival time (MST) 7.5 months; n = 98] than without thrombocytosis (MST 10.1 months; n = 513; p = 0.0029). Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors using the Cox proportional hazards model indicated that thrombocytosis had independent prognostic significance. CONCLUSION: Thrombocytosis at the first patient evaluation is an independent prognostic factor in lung cancer.