Hematological parameters in lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. We aimed to analyze the blood count evaluation in patients with lung cancer who received radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy with respect to any changes in hematological parameter levels. METHODS: The study group consisted of 51 patients histologically confirmed as having lung cancer. Blood samples were obtained on the first admission before initial platinum-based chemotherapy (n=13) and before platinum-based chemotherapy with simultaneously applied radiotherapy (n=38); samples were obtained again six weeks after chemotherapy was performed. The hematological parameters of patients were determined by blood count analyzer. RESULTS: There were statistical differences between the groups with respect to white blood cells (WBC) (p<0.02), hemoglobin (Hb) (p<0.002), and hematocrit (Hct) (p<0.03). There was no significant difference between before and after chemotherapy and chemotherapy-radiotherapy values (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: We suggest that differences between WBC, Hb, and Hct values may be attributed to patients having different histological types.