Pre-chemoradiotherapy high platelet counts predict jaw osteoradionecrosis in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

• Published in: Journal of stomatology, oral and maxillofacial surgery oral and maxillofacial surgery, 2024-06, Vol.125 (3), p.101838-101838, Article 101838
• Main Authors: Somay, Efsun, Topkan, Erkan, Kucuk, Ahmet, Ozturk, Duriye, Ozkan, Emine Elif, Ozdemir, Beyza Sirin, Besen, Ali Ayberk, Mertsoylu, Huseyin, Pehlivan, Berrin, Selek, Ugur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemoradiotherapy - adverse effects; Female; Humans; Incidence; Jaw Diseases - diagnosis; Jaw Diseases - epidemiology; Jaw Diseases - etiology; Jaw Diseases - therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Nasopharyngeal cancer; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - pathology; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - therapy; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - blood; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - therapy; Osteoradionecrosis; Osteoradionecrosis - diagnosis; Osteoradionecrosis - epidemiology; Osteoradionecrosis - etiology; Osteoradionecrosis - therapy; Platelet; Platelet Count; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiotherapy; Retrospective Studies
• ISSN: 2468-7855; 2468-7855
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jormas.2024.101838

This retrospective study aimed to investigate if pretreatment platelet (PLT) levels can predict the risk of osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). ORNJ instances were identified from LA-NPC patients' pre- and post-CCRT oral exam records. All pretreatment PLT values were acquired on the first day of CCRT. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimal PLT cutoff that divides patients into two subgroups with distinctive ORNJ rates. The primary outcome measure was the association between pretreatment PLT values and ORNJ incidence rates. The incidence of ORNJ was 8.8 % among the 240 LA-NPC patients analyzed. The ideal pre-CCRT PLT cutoff which divided the patients into two significantly different ORNJ rate groups was 285,000 cells/µL (PLT ≤ 285,000 cells/µL (N = 175) vs. PLT > 285,000 cells/µL (N = 65)). A comparison of the two PLT groups revealed that the incidence of ORNJ was substantially higher in patients with PLT > 285,000 cells/L than in those with PLT≤285,000 cells/L (26.2% vs. 2.3 %; P < 0.001). The presence of pre-CCRT ≥3 tooth extractions, any post-CCRT tooth extractions, mean mandibular dose ≥ 34.1 Gy, mandibular V57.5 Gy ≥ 34.7 %, and post-CCRT tooth extractions > 9 months after CCRT completion were also associated with significantly increased ORNJ rates. A multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that each characteristic had an independent significance on ORNJ rates after CCRT. An affordable and easily accessible novel biomarker, PLT> 285,000 cells/L, may predict substantially higher ORNJ rates after definitive CCRT in individuals with LA-NPC.