Thrombocytosis and hematocrit as prognostic factors in renal carcinoma

To examine the connection between preoperative thrombocytosis and hematocrit and survival in a group of patients operated for renal cell carcinoma.

Retrospective study with descriptive and statistical analysis of 139 patients with renal cell carcinoma treated surgically over the last 4 years in our Urology clinical unit. 116 (83,45%)were diagnosed at a localized clinical stage, whereas 23 (16,54%) presented as locally advanced or metastatic disease. We collected data about survival and time on surveillance, imaging and histological characteristics of the tumor and analytical parameters. Data were analyzed by the SPSS statistical software.

The average platelet count and hematocrit before surgery were 260,930 cells/mm3 and 41.10%, respectively. We found a statistical correlation between platelet count at the time of diagnosis and survival. Patients with platelet counts higher than 350,000 cells/mm3 had a poor survival (OR: 2.94; CI 95% 1.04- 8.27). We also found that patients with high hematocrit at diagnosis presented a lower risk of death (OR: 0.92; CI 95% 0.85- 0.99). The global survival at the end of the study was 88.4%. Multivariate analysis did not show any significant result because of the low number of deaths.

The presence of high platelet count or low hematocrit correlate with poor survival in a group of surgically treated renal cell carcinoma patients. Nevertheless more studies with longer surveillance and higher number of patients are needed.