Decreased mean platelet volume predicts poor prognosis in metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with first-line chemotherapy: results from mCRC biomarker study

BACKGROUND: Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is a major cause of death of malignant tumor and the valuable prognostic biomarker for chemotherapy is crucial in decreasing mortality. Previous studies have proved the prognostic value of the mean platelet volume (MPV) in survival of primary operable CRC patients. However, the prognostic impact of MPV in mCRC is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the prognostic role of MPV in mCRC undergoing standard first-line chemotherapy. METHODS: From January 2012 to December 2016, we conducted a retrospective clinical study included 264 mCRC patients (NCT03532711). All the enrolled patients received the standard oxaliplatin-based or irinotecan-based chemotherapy. The association between the baseline MPV and clinicopathological features were examined. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that decreased MPV, the platelet counts (PLT), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and the platelet crit (PCT) were significantly associated with inferior overall survival (OS) (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, elevated PLR was significant prognostic factors for OS, with hazard ratios of (HR:1.006, 95% CI:1.001–1.011, p = 0.01) while MPV was not, respectively (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the baseline MPV level may act as a predictive factor for survival in mCRC patients undergoing standard chemotherapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was retrospectively registered in date May the 20th 2018. The registration number (TRN) of this study was NCT03532711. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-5252-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.