Can Platelet and Leukocyte Indicators Give Us an Idea about Distant Metastasis in Nasopharyngeal Cancer?

This study aimes to evaluate platelet and leucocyte indicators, such as the mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, plateletcrit, white blood cell count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in nasopharyngeal cancer patients and also to evaluate the relationship between these indicators and nasopharyngeal cancer with distant metastasis. The medical records of 118 patients diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in our hospital between January 2006 and August 2015 were reviewed. The nasopharyngeal cancer group was further sub grouped according to the presence or absence of distant metastasis and TNM (tumour – T, node – N, metastasis – M) classification. A control group consisted of 120 healthy patients. The platelet and leucocyte values at the time of the initial diagnosis were recorded. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet distribution width values were significantly higher in the nasopharyngeal cancer group. But only platelet distribution width values were significantly higher in the nasopharyngeal cancer group with distant metastasis compared to the nasopharyngeal cancer group without distant metastasis. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet distribution width values may increase in nasopharyngeal cancer. But only the platelet distribution width values may give us an idea about the distant metastasis in nasopharyngeal cancer.