A large-scale study conducted by researchers says that having a high blood platelet count is a strong indicator of cancer and should be investigated urgently. The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, calls for general physicians to consider a diagnosis of cancer in patients with unexpected raised blood platelet count -- known as thrombocytosis -- to increase early diagnosis which can save lives. The study analysed the data of 40,000 patients and found that more than 11 percent of men and six per cent of women over the age of 40 with thrombocytosis went on to be diagnosed with cancer within a year.
This rose to 18 percent of men and 10 percent of women if a second raised platelet count was recorded within six months. In the general population, around one per cent develop cancer in any one year. If a second high platelet count was recorded within six months, those…
