Comparison of Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio between Degrees of the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients at Haji Adam Malik General Hospital

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy. The Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer System (BCLC), guides the treatment of patients with HCC. Platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is an inflammatory marker used as a prognostic factor disease of HCC. An increase in PLR indicates higher host’s inflammatory response and is associated with aggressive HCC behaviour, according to BCLC. AIM: This study aims to determine the PLRs between among the degrees of BCLC (The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer) in HCC patients at Haji Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan during 2015-2016. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 166 patients with HCC who were then classified by the BCLC guidelines. PLRs among the patient’s degrees of BCLC were compared using Kruskal Wallis test. RESULTS: A total of 166 HCC patients, 129 (77.7%) were men and 37 (22.3%) were women. The PLR value has a median value of 17841with the lowest value of 1776 and the highest value of 223684. There were differences in PLR levels with various BCLC stages in patients with HCC at Haji Adam Malik Hospital during 2015-2016 (p = 0.026). CONCLUSION: There were differences in PLR levels with various BCLC stages in patients with HCC at Haji Adam Malik Hospital during 2015-2016.