Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the prognostic predictive value of the platelet lymphocyte ratio as a clinical parameter of the outcome of the Sudanese OSCC patients. METHOD: Forty two oral cancer patients were selected for the study. The patients surgically managed in the period December 2018 to June 2020. The PLR was recorded and correlated with :the status of surgical margins, the lymphovascular invasion, the extranodal extension, the microscopic depth and the patient's survival (dead/ alive). RESULT: A ratio of 170 was considered to be a cut off point of the PLR; as patients with a ratio higher than 170 were found to have a bad prognosis. Twenty-four patients (59.5%) had a PLR higher than 170. Patients with PLR equal to 170 or less have 45% decrease in the odds of survival and 57% decrease in the odds of having positive lymph nodes. Thirty-three percent passed away. CONCLUSION: The PLR is an affordable, practical and efficient way to predict an OSCC patient's overall survival.