My mom has been on Ibrutinib for 1year.Her latest report shows low platelet count 120 with giant platelets. HB and TLC ok. Significance?

[Kamlesh70]

Mom has been on Ibrutinib for a year and a half.Her latest report shows low platelet count120 with giant platelets. HB and TLC ok. What does that signify?

[cajunjeff]

Kamlesh, I hope you and your mother are well.

Your mother's platelets are low, but in an okay range, actually about the same as mine. Having low platelets is called thrombocytopenia, Thrombocytopenia has many causes, but for me and your mom, our cll is the likely cause of our low platelets.

Giant platelets sound like they would be good, big is better, right? But giant platelets are abnormal platelets that do not function correctly. What caused them and if they are any real problem can be a function of how many giant platelets are in the count.

Some of us with cll (5 to 15%) get a variety of autoimmune disorders where our body attacks itself. I had hemolytic anemia where my body attacked my own red blood cells.

One such autoimmune disorder is immune thrombocytopenia purpura (itp). This is where our body attacks our own platelets. Giant platelets can be seen with itp.

Of course this does not mean your mom has itp. Her platelets, while low, are in a very functional range. I am just giving you one example of a disorder that can be accompanied by giant platelets. She may have so few giant platelets that it is just an incidental finding on her labs. Or there could be another cause for her giant platelets than itp.

Its a good question for her doctor. I assume if it was of any real concern, her doctor would have said something. But it cant hurt to ask her doctor if her abnormal platelets are enough to be concerned about. And even if she does have itp, its treatable with the same type of drugs I took that got my immune disorder under control.

Good luck to you. You are a good son looking out for your mom. Jeff

[Kamlesh70 in reply to cajunjeff]

Thankyou so so much for responding.I have to get back to her doctor as yet. Things are so chaotic here in India in these COVID times.

Jyoti