Predicting Cancer Deaths

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A high white blood cell (WBC) count is linked to a higher risk of death from cancer, reveals a new study conducted in Australia.

According to researchers, people with the highest counts of the inflammatory marker are more likely to die of all cancers. The effect is especially strong in people with lung cancer.

The authors explain white blood cells rise in response to inflammation in the body, and higher white blood cell counts are generally seen in people with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. People who smoke also have higher white blood cell counts. White blood cell counts have also been implicated in cancer, but the link between the two has been less clear.

This study involved nearly 3,000 people with an average age of 66 who were participating in another study. At the beginning of the research, none had cancer. By the end of the study -- about nine years later -- 212 people had died of the disease.
 
Investigators found the association between white blood cell counts and cancer deaths held true even after they adjusted their findings to take other factors that could have affected white blood cell counts into consideration.

Results also revealed people with higher white blood cell counts who used aspirin on a weekly basis had lower death rates from cancer than those with higher counts who did not use aspirin on a regular basis.

Study authors say, "Results from this study support the hypothesis of an association between high white blood cell count and cancer mortality."

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SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2005;166:188-194