Ovarian carcinoma associated thrombocytosis. Correlation with prognostic factors and with survival.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of thrombocytosis (platelets > or = 400,000 microliters) in ovarian cancer of epithelial origin as compared to benign controls consisting of benign ovarian cysts of epithelial origin and to correlate it with prognostic factors of ovarian cancer and survival.
METHOD: Hospital records of 82 consecutive patients with ovarian carcinoma, 12 with low malignant potential tumors and 70 with invasive carcinoma, and of 32 patients with benign cysts of epithelial origin were reviewed. The clinical data and preoperative platelet counts were recorded.
RESULTS: The prevalence of thrombocytosis in invasive ovarian carcinoma of epithelial origin was significantly higher than in benign controls (24.3% vs 2.9%; p = 0.006). No statistically significant correlation was found between thrombocytosis with age, grade and residual disease. A statistically non-significant excess of thrombocytosis was found among patients with advanced disease, but the survival of patients with thrombocytosis was significantly less favorable (p = 0.04).
CONCLUSIONS: Thrombocytosis is significantly more prevalent in ovarian cancer patients than in benign controls and has a statistically significant correlation with poorer survival. The prevalence of thrombocytosis in ovarian carcinoma and its significance in various studies is inconsistent and should be elucidated in large prospective studies.