The Prognostic Significance of Pretreatment White Blood Cell and Platelet Counts for Survival Outcome in Primary Lung Cancer.

Background: In Vietnam, lung cancer ranks second among common types of cancer. Although there have been many advances in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, it is still one of the deadliest types of cancer.

Objective: We investigated the prognostic value of pretreatment white blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts of patients with lung cancer.

Methods: This was a prospective, descriptive study with longitudinal follow-up. Data from 203 patients with stage IIIA-IV lung cancer presenting at Can Tho City Oncology Hospital between June 2020 and June 2022 were analyzed. Complete blood cell counts were obtained using standard methods. Lung cancer diagnoses and histological classifications were obtained from cancer registries. The optimal overall survival cutoff point for pretreatment WBC and platelet counts was determined using maximally selected rank statistics.

Results: The median follow-up was 6 (interquartile range 4-8) months and the median age was 61.3 years. The number of male patients was higher than the number of female patients. Most (71.4%) patients had adenocarcinoma; 62.1% of the patients had a WBC count of > 10 × 109/L and 38.4% had a platelet count of > 400 × 109/L. The median overall survival (OS) of all patients was 8 months. The 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year OS was 88.7%, 62.4%, and 28.3%, respectively. Patients with a WBC count of <9.18 × 109/L had a higher OS than those with a count of ≥ 9.18 × 109/L (17 months versus 8 months; p < 0.001) Patients with a platelet count of < 453 × 109/L had a higher OS than those with a count of ≥ 453 × 109/L (8 months versus 7 months; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: White blood cell and platelet count tests are routine investigations that are valuable, in combination with other factors, for predicting OS of lung cancer patients. They can help clinicians to monitor treatment response and survival.