ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Only a few studies (n=5) have focused on the importance of preoperative high white blood cell (WBC) count (leukocytosis) as a prognostic marker in patients with endometrial cancer (EC). Nevertheless, more related studies are needed to solidly corroborate these findings. To the best of our knowledge, no such study has been conducted in the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia in particular. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The medical records of 130 patients with endometrioid-type EC were reviewed for clinico-pathological factors (that is, age, tumor stage, endometrioid grade, myometrial invasion depth, lymphovascular space involvement and recurrence) and survival outcomes. Survival outcomes included disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Leukocytosis was defined as a WBC count level >10 x 103 cells/uL. Chisquare test was used for univariate analysis of categorical data. Survival analyses of DFS and OS were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier estimates method and compared by using two-tailed log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses of survival were performed using Cox proportional hazards model. Statistical significance was regarded as a p value <0.05. RESULTS: The mean age was 59 ± 10.5 years (range: 36-99). The overall mean preoperative WBC count was 7.7 ± 2.4 x 103 cells/uL (range: 2.7-17 x 103). The frequency of preoperative leukocytosis was 18.5% (n=24). Patients with preoperative leukocytosis have statistically significant higher rates of advanced FIGO stage III-IV disease (p=0.007) and positive tumor recurrence (p=0.009) than patients with normal preoperative WBC count (chisquare test). Patients with preoperative leukocytosis have a higher statistically significant probability of developing recurrence than patients with preoperative normal WBC count (29.4 vs. 11.8%, p=0.008, log-rank test). Patients with preoperative leukocytosis have statistically significant lower mean DFS (58.3 ± 6.9 vs. 67.9 ± 2.3 months, p=0.015) and 5-year DFS rate (66.7 vs. 86.8%, p=0.015) than patients with normal preoperative WBC counts (log-rank test). However, there were no statistically significant differences between patients with preoperative leukocytosis and normal WBC counts in terms of mean OS (73.8 ± 4.5 vs. 79.3 ± 2.1, p=0.581) and 5-year OS rate (87.5 vs. 91.5%, p=0.581), respectively (log-rank test). Multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards model failed to significantly demonstrate preoperative WBC count as an independent prognostic factor of DFS and OS (log-rank test, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Preoperative leukocytosis is not rare in patients with endometrioid-type EC. Besides, preoperative leukocytosis is correlated with poor tumor FIGO stage, higher cumulative incidence of relapse and poor DFS in the univariate analysis. Our study suggests that preoperative leukocytosis may identify high-risk patients who may require more intensified therapy in terms of aggressive debulking and/or perioperative chemotherapy.
