How this fits in

The risk of cancer in primary care patients with thrombocytosis (an elevated platelet count of >400 × 109/l) has been found in males and females to be almost four and two times above the 3% threshold for urgent investigation for suspected cancer set by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, respectively. The authors investigated patients with a platelet count at the upper end of the normal range (high-normal: 326–400 × 109/l) to help determine whether cancer should be considered. It was found that older males with a high-normal platelet count have an increased incidence of cancer within 1 year compared with those with a count that is well within the normal range. At the upper end of the normal range, colorectal cancer was most likely to be diagnosed in males and so, in the absence of any other indicative clinical features, a faecal immunochemical test may be the most appropriate initial investigation. These findings support the usefulness of platelet count as a clue to identifying patients who could be harbouring a cancer.