High Platelet count - Ovarian Cancer

Hello Pickles1959,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Helen, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

I see that you have joined several of the forums on Macmillan’s online community and have mentioned feeling supported by them, which is lovely to know.

You have asked if changes to someone’s blood results, in particular the platelet count, might be an indicator of ovarian cancer.

Platelets are gold-coloured disc-like blood cells whose chief role is to form clots to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is damaged. There is also a growing recognition of the role of platelets in inflammation and immune responses.  

In the presence of cancers, including ovarian cancer, elevated platelet numbers have been noted. In addition, there is also an increase in what are called ‘thrombopoietic factors’, that’s the proteins that regulate platelet production.   

What is not clear and is a new area of research, is whether an increase in these proteins and the resultant increase in platelets is as a result of the cancer, or the other way around.

Your question is very interesting Pickles1959, and relates to new and emerging knowledge, so as yet, UK clinical guidelines do not use platelet measurements as a diagnostic tool in ovarian cancer. 

I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes, Helen

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

Ref HM/BG