Pretreatment circulating monocyte count associated with poor prognosis in patients with oral cavity cancer

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the pretreatment total and differential leukocyte counts can predict the prognosis of patients with oral cavity cancer. Methods In a retrospective analysis of patients treated between 2004 and 2011, medical records of 202 patients with oral cavity cancer were evaluated. Results Patients with oral cavity cancer, the peripheral total white blood cell (WBC) count, monocyte, and neutrophil counts and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio increased with the advancement of clinical stage. In contrast, the lymphocyte count decreased. Further, total WBC, monocyte, and neutrophil counts were increased in those with pathologic stage T4 and poor tumor differentiation, and the monocyte count was also increased in those with lymph node metastasis. Moreover, the pretreatment circulating monocyte count was an independent prognostic factor for cancer‐specific survival. Conclusion A higher pretreatment circulating monocyte count can be considered as a useful prognostic marker in patients with oral cavity cancer. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 36: 947–953, 2014