Preoperative leukocytosis, anemia and thrombocytosis are associated with poor survival in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported any prognostic impact of preoperative leukocytosis, anemia and thrombocytosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The significance of the combined use of these 3 abnormal blood cell counts was investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two hundred and eighty-nine consecutive NSCLC patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS The patients with leukocytosis, anemia and thrombocytosis had significantly worse prognosis. The 5-year survival of the patients with all three of these abnormal blood cell counts was 25.0%, which was significantly poorer compared with that of the patients without any of these abnormal cell counts (78.23%). The 5-year survival of the patients with 1 or 2 out of the three abnormal blood cell counts was an intermediate value. Both univariate and multivariate analyses indicated the independent prognostic impact of the use of these three abnormal blood cell counts combined. CONCLUSION The use of leukocytosis, anemia and thrombocytosis combined might be useful for predicting the prognosis of NSCLC patients.