HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN PREDICTING SEVERITY IN TERMS OF TUMOR GRADE IN PATIENTS WITH ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Abstract

Objective: The objective of our study was to determine the most reliable haematological parameters for assessing the tumor severity with respect to histological grade in patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Material and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Pathology Department, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad from January to December 2019. Fifty-eight patients of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma were selected by consecutive non-probability sampling. Preoperative hemogram values including total leukocyte count, red cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, red cell indices, platelet count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio were recorded and was studied how these parameters differed among the histological grades of tumor. Stratification of patients was done based on gender and histological grade of tumor. Independent-sample t-test for gender and ANOVA-test for histological grade was applied to assess differences in haematological parameter measurements between the groups. P< 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Anemia was observed as a common finding in our patients seen in 24% cases. Mean platelet count was within normal range. We observed that the haematological parameters i.e. total leukocyte count, absolute neutrophil count, absolute lymphocyte count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio varied significantly with the advancing grades of the tumor from well-differentiated to poorly-differentiated keratinizing oral squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: The pre-surgical haematological profile holds many prognostic indicators, useful in predicting tumor severity in terms of histological differentiation of tumor. Key Words: Oral squamous cell carcinoma, Prognosis, Histology