Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet count as prognostic factors in ovarian malignancies

Objective: The objectives of the present study were to demonstrate the influence of neutrophils, platelets, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the ovarian cancer prognosis and to compare these parameters with benign ovarian neoplasms. Materials and Methods: Records of patients underwent surgery for ovarian cysts were evaluated. There were 72 malignant neoplasms and 213 benign neoplasms. Age, parity, histologic type, tumor stage, type of surgery performed, chemotherapy, disease-free survival, serum levels of tumor markers, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, and NRL were recorded. The Mann-Whitney, the Chi-square test and multiple linear regression were used. A P-value < 0.05 was established as the significance level. Results: Higher values of platelets, neutrophils, and NLR were found in malignant tumors (P = 0.0132, P = 0.0208, and P < 0.0001, respectively), while lymphocytes values were higher in benign group (P < 0.0001). Preoperative platelet count 300,000/mm3 was related to less aggressive histological types (P = 0.0148). NLR 24 months had most often neutropenia during chemotherapy (P = 0.0482). After multivariate analysis, platelets, NLR, and serum levels of CA15.3 were considered independent variables related to tumor staging (P = 0.028, P = 0.028, and P = 0.035, respectively). Conclusion: NLR and serum levels of platelets may represent potential prognostic factors in ovarian cancer, and they may also serve as therapeutic targets in the future treatment strategies.