Can neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume be used to predict metastasis in individuals with lung cancer?

Chronic inflammation plays an important role in the etiopathogenesis of many life-threatening chronic diseases, including cancer. Currently, the relationship between inflammation, native immunity and cancer is widely accepted; however, many of the mechanisms mediating this relationship remain undetermined and the clinical significance of these markers is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) to indicate the existence of metastasis in lung cancer. This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated patients with lung cancer of any pathological type who was admitted to the Palliative Care Unit of the referral hospital in the region between January 2019 and February 2020. Patient characteristics, distant organ metastasis, treatments, NLR and MPV values were noted. Patients were grouped as with or without metastasis. Characters, NLR, MPV values were compared. One hundred twenty-six patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 61.17 ± 9.4 years and 7.9% (n = 10) were female. The patients with a history of chemotherapy were 47% (n = 60) and distant organ metastases were present in 38.9% (n = 49) of the patients. The mean MPV value of 49 patients with distant metastasis was 8.34 ± 0.8 fL. MPV values of those with metastasis were found to be significantly higher than those without (P = .010). There was no significant difference in NLR values between groups (P = .920). Lung cancer patients with metastasis were found with higher MPV values. MPV can be effective and most accessible test in prediction of metastasis in lung cancer patients regardless of the pathological type.