Association between Platelet Count with 1-year Survival in Patients with Cancer Cachexia

Background: Changes in platelet count (PLT) are strongly associated with patient survival and may be clinically indicative of certain underlying diseases. However, there were few studies on the prognosis of patients with cancer cachexia. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between PLT and 1-year survival in patients with cancer cachexia. Methods: We performed a nested case-control study of data from a multicenter clinical study of cancer. There were 252 patients with cancer cachexia whose survival time was less than or equal to 1 year and 252 patients with cancer cachexia whose survival time was more than 1 year meeting the inclusion criteria. The mortality risk and the adjusted risk were estimated by logistic regression and displayed as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: PLT was negatively correlated with 1-year overall survival (OS) of patients with cancer cachexia (increased per standard deviation (SD): OR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.05-1.60; P = 0.018). The higher the PLT, the lower the OS of patients. When classified by dichotomy (D1 < 296×10⁹/L, D2 ≥ 296×10⁹/L), OS of patients in the D2 group was worse (OR = 2.18; 95% CI: 1.38-3.47; P = 0.001). When classified by quartile (Q1- Q3 < 305×10⁹/L, Q4 ≥ 305×10⁹/L), OS of patients in the Q4 group was poorer (OR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.14-2.94; P = 0.013). In addition, patients with a low PLT (< 296×10⁹/L) and either a high total bilirubin (TBIL) (≥ 17.1 µmol/L) or a smoking history had poor 1-year survival. Based on our primary cohort study, we conducted a survival analysis of 3130 patients with cancer cachexia and found that OS was better in patients with low PLT (< 296×10⁹/L). Conclusion: PLT was negatively correlated with 1-year overall survival of patients with cancer cachexia.