VCS parameters of neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes may indicate local bacterial infection in cancer patients who accepted cytotoxic chemotherapeutics

Bacterial infections increased greatly in cancer patients who accepted cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. VCS parameters of neutrophils were reported to be an indicator for acute bacterial infection accompanied by increased WBC counts. Here we explored the possibility of VCS parameters of neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes in indicating the local bacterial infection in cancer patients. A total of 310 cancer patients and 90 healthy controls were retrospectively analyzed, and 190 of them were diagnosed as acute local bacterial infection. The VCS parameters acquired from a Beckman Coulter LH750 haematology analyzer were investigated to determine which VCS parameters could indicate local bacterial infection in cancer patients with leucopenia caused by cytotoxic agents. VCS parameters of cancer patients were significantly affected by infection. For diagnosing bacterial infection of cancer patients, the best single indicator was mean monocyte light scatter (MMS) with a sensitivity of 95.12 % and a specificity of 58.82 % and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.792. A combination of the following five parameters: mean neutrophil volume (MNV), MMS, mean lymphocyte conductivity (MLC), mean lymphocyte light scatter (MLS) and neutrophil volume distribution width (NDW) could provide a better index in diagnosing bacterial infection than any single parameter (sensitivity 75.8 %, specificity 64.72 %, AUC 0.763). Taking WBC counts into consideration, VCS parameters could better indicate bacterial infection for cancer patients with abnormal WBC level than that with normal WBC level. Aside from neutrophils, the VCS of monocytes and lymphocytes were also ideal indicators for bacterial infection. The combination of VCS parameters could increase the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diagnosis of cancer patients.