Evaluation of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in oral squamous cell carcinoma: A cross sectional, case control study

Background: Oral cancer is a significant public health concern which is more prevalent in South Central Asia, especially in developing countries such as India. Recent studies have presented the significance of systemic inflammatory response and its influence on the outcome of various tumors. Platelet Lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a hematological marker of inflammation found to be associated with the presence or prognosis of several types of cancer. There are only few studies evaluating the diagnostic role of PLR in Oral squamous cell Carcinoma (OSCC). Aim of the study was to evaluate the role of Platelet-to-Lymphocyte ratio in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Materials and Methods: The study included 84 subjects (42 in control group and 42 in study group). Case history was recorded for all the subjects along with thorough clinical examination. Individuals in both the groups were asked to undergo a complete blood count for the estimation of platelet and lymphocyte counts using which the PLR was calculated. All individuals with OSCC were clinically staged using TNM classification. Incisional biopsies were taken from the malignant lesions and histopathological confirmation was done. Results: The mean PLR in Control Group was 126.90±47.39 and in OSCC Group was 248.09±188.15. High PLR was observed in advanced stages of OSCC (p = 0.001) and also with moderate and poor degree of differentiation (p = 0.03). Conclusion: PLR can be easily calculated from a CBC, which is a cost effective, readily available investigation modality. From our observations, we conclude that PLR ratio has the potential to be considered as a reliable diagnostic marker apart from its prognostic potential.