The prognostic significance of thrombocytopenia during chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of thrombocytopenia during HT as a prognostic factor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study was non-randomized, retrospective–prospective and conducted in the Institute for pulmonary diseases in Sremska Kamenica. The study included 100 NSCLC patients, clinical stages III and IV, who were treated with protocol gemcitabine/cisplatin in first line setting. Study group consisted of 50 patients with, and control group of 50 patients without hematological toxicity during HT. Survival was monitored in a prospective two-year period. There were 76% males and 24% females in the sample. The most frequent were patients in stage IV (52%), and the most common histological type was adenocarcinoma (47%). The initial value of platelets did not affect the occurrence of thrombocytopenia all grades during HT (p Conclusion: thrombocytopenia is not an independent prognostic factor, but patients with higher grades of thrombocytopenia had better survival.