Inflammation is a critical component of tumor progression. Many cancers arise from sites of infection, chronic irritation, and inflammation. It is now becoming clear that the tumour microenvironment, which is largely orchestrated by inflammatory cells, is an essential participant in the neoplastic process, promoting proliferation, survival and migration. Platelets can release some growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor, platelet factor 4, and thrombospondin. Such factors have been shown to promote hematogenous tumour spread, tumor cell adhesion and invasion, and angiogenesis and to play an important role in tumor progression. In this study, we aimed to investigate effects of the pretreatment neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on survival and response to chemoradiotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ninety-four patients with non-metastatic NSCLC were included and separated into two groups according to median value of NLR and PLR (low: <3.44 or high: ≥ 3.44 and low: <194 or high ≥ 194, respectively). Pretreatment high NLR and PLR were associated with significantly shorter disease-free and overall survival rates. Multivariate analysis revealed that the overall survival rates were significantly linked with PLR (OR: 1.87, CI: 1.20-2.91, p: 0.006) and response to chemoradiotherapy (OR: 1.80, CI: 1.14-2.81, p: 0.012) and the disease-free survival rates were significantly associated with NLR (OR: 1.81, CI: 1.16-2.82, p: 0.009) and response to chemoradiotherapy (OR: 2.30, CI: 1.45-3.66, p: 0.001). There was no significant difference between patients with high and low NLR in terms of response to chemoradiotherapy. Similarly, there was no significant influence of the PLR. Pretreatment NLR and PLR measurements can provide important prognostic results in patients with NSCLC and assessment of the two parameters together appears to better predict the prognosis in patients with NSCLC. The effect of inflammation, indicators of NLR and PLR, on survival seems independent of the response to chemoradiotherapy.

Lack of any Association between Blood Groups and Lung Cancer, Independent of Histology Lung cancer;ABO blood groups;Rh factor;SCLC;NSCLC;Turkey; Introduction: Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths, is divided into 2 main classes based on its biology, therapy and prognosis: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Many cases are at an advanced stage at diagnosis, which is a major obstacle to improving outcomes. It is important to define the high risk group patients for early diagnosis and chance of cure. Blood group antigens are chemical components on erythrocyte membranes but they are also expressed on a variety of epithelial cells. Links between ABO blood groups with benign or malignant diseases, such as gastric and pancreas cancers, have been observed for a long time. In this study, we aimed to investigate any possible relationship between lung cancer histological subtypes and ABO-Rh blood groups. Materials and Methods: The files of 307 pathologically confirmed lung cancer patients were reviewed retrospectively. Cases with a serologically determined blood group and Rh factor were included and those with a history of another primary cancer were excluded, leaving a total of 221. The distribution of blood groups of the lung cancer patients were compared with the distribution of blood groups of healthy donors admitted to the Turkish Red Crescent Blood Service in our city in the year 2012. Results: There was no significant difference between patients with lung cancer of either type and the control group in terms of distribution of ABO blood groups and Rh factor (p: 0.073). There was also no relationship with non small cell cancer histological subtypes. Conclusions: In this study, we found no relationship between the ABO-Rhesus blood groups and NSCLC and SCLC groups. To our knowledge this is the first analysis of ABO blood groups in SCLC patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, late diagnosis being the main obstacle to improving the outcomes with stage at diagnosis as an important prognostic factor. Relationships between ABO blood groups and risk of benign or malignant diseases have been observed and in this study, we aimed to investigate whether they might affect prognosis and response to chemoradiotherapy in patients with local advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Eighty-one patients with non-metastatic local advanced NSCLC were included in the study. ABO blood groups were A in 45 (55.6%), B in 7 (8.6%), AB in 8 (9.9%), and O in 21 (25.9%) patients. The patients were also divided two groups according to blood group A (45 patients) and non-A (B, AB and O; 36 patients). Response to chemoradiotherapy was complete remission in 10 (12.3%), disease regression in 42 (51.9%), stable disease in 12 (14.8%), and disease progression in 17 (21.0%) patients. There was no significant difference among ABO blood group categories or between patients with A blood group and those with non-A blood group in terms of responses to chemoradiotherapy (p>0.05). There were also no significant differences regarding overall and disease-free survival rates. The ABO blood group system has no significant effect on prognosis and response to chemoradiotherapy in patients with non-metastatic NSCLC.

Relationships between Skin Cancers and Blood Groups - Link between Non-melanomas and ABO/Rh Factors ABO blood group;skin cancer;Rh factor;basal cell carcinoma;squamous cell carcinoma; Background: This investigation focused on possible relationships between skin cancers and ABO/Rh blood groups. Materials and Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2012, medical data of 255 patients with skin cancers who were admitted to Kayseri Training and Research Hospital, Radiation Oncology and Plastic Surgery Outpatient Clinics were retrospectively analyzed. Blood groups of these patients were recorded. The control group consisted of 25701 healthy volunteers who were admitted to Kayseri Training and Research Hospital, Blood Donation Center between January 2010 and December 2011. The distribution of the blood groups of the patients with skin cancers was compared to the distribution of ABO/Rh blood groups of healthy controls. The association of the histopathological subtypes of skin cancer with the blood groups was also investigated. Results: Of the patients, 50.2% had A type, 26.3% had O type, 16.1% had B type, and 7.5% had AB blood group with a positive Rh (+) in 77.3%. Of the controls, 44.3% had A type, 31.5% had 0 type, 16.1% had B type, and 8.1% had AB blood group with a positive Rh (+) in 87.8%. There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of blood groups and Rh factors (A Rh (-) and 0 Rh positive) between the patients and controls. A total of 36.8% and 20.4% of the patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) had A Rh (+) and B Rh (+), respectively, while 39.2% and 27.6% of the controls had A Rh (+) and B Rh (+), respectively. A significant relationship was observed between the patients with BCC and controls in terms of A Rh (-) (p=0.001). Conclusion: Our study results demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between non-melanoma skin cancer and ABO/Rh factors.