Correlation between increased granulocyte elastase release and activation of blood coagulation in patients with lung cancer

A variational autoencoder trained with priors from canonical pathways increases the interpretability of transcriptome data

Interpreting transcriptome data is an important yet challenging aspect of bioinformatic analysis. While gene set enrichment analysis is a standard tool for interpreting regulatory changes, we utilize deep learning techniques, specifically autoencoder architectures, to learn latent variables that drive transcriptome signals. We investigate whether simple, variational autoencoder (VAE), and beta-weighted VAE are capable of learning reduced representations of transcriptomes that retain critical biological information. We propose a novel VAE that utilizes priors from biological data to direct the network to learn a representation of the transcriptome that is based on understandable biological concepts. After benchmarking five different autoencoder architectures, we found that each succeeded in reducing the transcriptomes to 50 latent dimensions, which captured enough variation for accurate reconstruction. The simple, fully connected autoencoder, performs best across the benchmarks, but lacks the characteristic of having directly interpretable latent dimensions. The beta-weighted, prior-informed VAE implementation is able to solve the benchmarking tasks, and provide semantically accurate latent features equating to biological pathways. This study opens a new direction for differential pathway analysis in transcriptomics with increased transparency and interpretability.

Changing profile of lung cancer clinical characteristics in China: Over 8-year population-based study

Background

Although examinations and therapies for bronchial lung cancer, also called lung cancer (LC), have become more effective and precise, the morbidity and mortality of LC remain high worldwide. Describing the changing profile of LC characteristics over time is indispensable. This study aimed to understand the changes in real-world settings of LC and its characteristics in China.

Methods

In this study, 119,785 patients were enrolled from 2012 to 2020 in the Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital. The patients' medical records were extracted from the hospital's database. Demographic characteristics, general clinicopathological information, and blood coagulation indices at the initial diagnoses were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis, Nemenyi, chi-squared, and Bonferroni tests. Changes in demographic characteristics during the 8-year study period, namely dynamic changes among different stages and different pathological types, were evaluated.

Results

The percentages of female (from 38.50% [323/839] in 2012 to 48.29% [5112/10,585] in 2020) and non-smoking LC (from 69.34% [475/685] to 80.48% [8055/10,009]) patients increased significantly during the study period, with a trend toward a younger age at diagnosis (from 3.58% [30/839] to 8.99% [952/10,585]). Over the study period, the proportion and absolute number of lung adenocarcinoma cases increased (from 67.97% [433/637] to 76.31% [6606/8657]) while the proportion of lung squamous cell carcinoma decreased (from 21.19% [135/637] to 12.08% [1046/8657]). Comprehensive driver gene mutation examination became more common, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation occurred more frequently in female vs. male (62.03% [12793/20625] vs. 29.90% [8207/27,447]) and non-smoking vs. smoking (53.54% [17,203/32,134] vs. 23.73% [3322/13,997]) patients (both P < 0.001). The distribution of the common driver genes differed among different stages of LC. EGFR mutation was detected most frequently at each stage, and other driver gene alterations were more common in advanced stages (P <0.001). The combination of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, as a comprehensive management regimen, gradually became predominant over the study period (P < 0.001). A hypercoagulable state was shown in advanced-stage LC patients and patients with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase fusion, indicated by significantly elevated levels of d-dimer, fibrinogen, and fibrinogen degradation products.

Conclusions

This study comprehensively depicted the changing characteristics of Chinese LC patients over an 8-year period to provide preliminary insights into LC treatment.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05423236.

Risk Factors and Prediction Models for Venous Thromboembolism in Ambulatory Patients with Lung Cancer

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of mortality in patients with lung cancer. Despite the availability of a wide range of anticoagulants to help prevent thrombosis, thromboprophylaxis in ambulatory patients is a challenge due to its associated risk of haemorrhage. As a result, anticoagulation is only recommended in patients with a relatively high risk of VTE. Efforts have been made to develop predictive models for VTE risk assessment in cancer patients, but the availability of a reliable predictive model for ambulate patients with lung cancer is unclear. We have analysed the latest information on this topic, with a focus on the lung cancer-related risk factors for VTE, and risk prediction models developed and validated in this group of patients. The existing risk models, such as the Khorana score, the PROTECHT score and the CONKO score, have shown poor performance in external validations, failing to identify many high-risk individuals. Some of the newly developed and updated models may be promising, but their further validation is needed.

Prognostic significance of the combination of preoperative fibrinogen and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients with non-small cell lung cancer following surgical resection

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative coagulation factor levels (including fibrinogen and D-dimer) and inflammatory indicators in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The medical records of 456 patients with NSCLC who had undergone curative resection were retrospectively analysed. The recommended cut-off values for preoperative fibrinogen, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. The associations between preoperative fibrinogen or D-dimer levels and clinicopathological variables were analysed using the χ² test. Univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model were applied to identify which prognostic variables were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) rates. Multivariate analyses revealed that lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), preoperative fibrinogen (P=0.024) and NLR (P=0.028) were effective independent prognostic variables associated with OS. Based on this result, a novel, single inflammation-based combination of fibrinogen and NLR (COF-NLR) score was proposed for the determination of prognosis. Patients with elevated fibrinogen and NLR levels were allocated a score of 2 (n=136), and those that demonstrated elevated levels of one or neither were allocated a score of 1 (n=152) or 0 (n=168), respectively. The 5-year OS rates were significantly poorer for patients with COF-NLR=2 compared with those with COF-NLR=1 or 0 (23.5% vs. 34.2% vs. 50.0%, P<0.001). A subgroup analysis demonstrated that the prognostic significance of COF-NLR was independent of histological subtype, lymph node metastasis and pathological stage. Therefore, COF-NLR has potential as a novel and useful blood marker for predicting tumour progression and the postoperative survival of patients with NSCLC. It may assist clinicians in risk stratification, prognosis predictions and facilitating individualised treatment.

Prognostic role of D-dimer in patients with lung cancer: a meta-analysis

D-dimer detection in patients suffering from a variety of different types of cancer has become a hot point as an emerging and promising biomarker. In this study, therefore, we evaluated the prognostic role of D-dimer in lung cancer. Initial literature was identified using the PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI. The primary data was hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of survival outcomes in candidate articles, including overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Finally, 11 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis, which were published between 1996 and 2013. The estimated pooled HR and 95% CI for OS of all studies was 2.06 (95% CI 1.64-2.58, p < 0.00001) and the HR and 95% CI for DFS in one study was 3.38 (95% CI 1.17-9.75, p = 0.002). The HRs and 95% CIs for OS in Asian and non-Asian patients were 2.48 (95% CI 1.60-3.84, p < 0.0001) and 1.89 (95% CI 1.44-2.47, p < 0.00001), respectively. When we further analyzed the data by various detecting methods, the pooled HR and 95% CI for OS were 3.22 (95% CI 1.99-5.21, p < 0.00001) for ELISA, 1.52 (95% CI 1.25-1.86, p < 0.0001) for Latex assay, and 1.79 (95% CI 1.19-2.69, p = 0.005) for immunoturbidimetry assay. We also did subgroup analysis according to the ratio of histological type and clinical stage. All the above analysis had positive results. This meta-analysis showed that D-dimer had a fine predictive role in lung cancer patients, especially in Asian group. Also, it demonstrated that D-dimer had a stronger predictive value by using the method ELISA.

Activation of the coagulation system in cancerogenesis and metastasation

The activation of the coagulation system in cancer patients is a well-known phenomenon responsible for recurrent clinical problems. A number of fascinating molecular mechanisms have been recognized showing that the tumor not only activates the coagulation system, but vice versa, activated coagulation proteins are able to induce molecular effects in tumor cells. The molecular basis is the expression of defined membrane receptors by tumor cells that are activated, for example, by thrombin. As the liberation of thrombin from prothrombin is one of the key events in coagulation, it's impact upon biological processes, such as cancerogenesis and metastasation, seems to be a regular pathophysiological consequence. These perceptions are not only interesting for the comprehension of cancerogenesis, metastasation, and clinical phenomena, but they also have a high impact upon modern strategies of tumor therapy. Especially, the development of clinically useful coagulation inhibitors, such as modern low molecular weight heparins or melagatran, created the possibility of therapies that combine cell biological approaches with apoptosis-inducing principals such as chemotherapy. Several clinical studies that demonstrate the implication of these strategies have already been published recently. In this article the cell biological basics for these approaches are reviewed.

Prognostic significance of hemostatic parameters in patients with lung cancer

There is a subclinical activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis system in lung cancer. Alterations in hemostatic system are seen frequently in lung cancer correlated with the prognosis of disease. In this prospective study, our purpose was to investigate the prognostic significance of hemostatic markers in patients with lung cancer. The study comprised 58 patients (22 squamous cell carcinoma, 16 adenocarcinoma, 20 small cell carcinoma). There were 55 men (95%)and 3 women (5%) with a mean age of 61 years range (36-74). Plasma level of platelets (PLT), prothrombin time (PT), active partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), antithrombin III (AT III), fibrinogen (F) and D-dimer level were measured before the initiation of any therapy. Patients were followed up for 17 (12-20) months. The median survival was determined as 6.4 months. Three histopathologic groups; squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma were compared for the hemostatic parameters. There were no statistically significant differences among the histopathologic types for any of the parameters (P > 0.05). Patients were divided into two groups as patients without distant metastasis (stages I,II,III) and with distant metastasis (stage IV). The group with distant metastasis had higher level of D-dimer than the other group (P < 0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences for D-dimer level between stages IIIB and IV (P > 0.05). Patients having high D-dimer and low AT III level had poor survival in our study. Thus, high level of D-dimer and low AT III level were determined as correlated with short survival (P < 0.05). These results suggest that elevated plasma level of D-dimer and low AT III level might be a sign of poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer.

Coagulopathy associated with Wilms' tumour: a rare complication

Coagulopathies associated with malignancies are not extremely rare, but are uncommonly associated with Wilms' tumour (WT). A 6-month-old female with a WT and an abnormal coagulation profile is reported. Due to the Coagulopathy and elevated D-dimers in the blood, surgery was deferred and chemotherapy was given, after which the coagulation profile became normal.

Impact of the fibrinolytic enzyme system on prognosis and survival associated with non-small cell lung carcinoma

Comprehensive studies of fibrinolysis in non-small cell lung carcinoma have been limited, and assignment of patients to high/low prognosis groups based on arbitrary cut-offs utilizing fibrinolytic measurements is unstandardized. This study was performed in 166 patients to examine the effects of cut-off values determined in three ways. Model 1 assigned patients to one of three equal groups (low, medium, high) based on fibrinolytic measurements made at diagnosis, Model 2 divided patients into low/high groups using median values, and Model 3 grouped according to the parameter being above/below normal range. In model 1, raised plasma fibrinogen, D-dimer and soluble fibrin were positively associated with poorer survival. In model 2, tissue plasminogen activator antigen was additionally related to poorer prognosis. Model 3 identified seven parameters as significantly related to survival, two not identified by the other models becoming significant [plasmin-antiplasmin, tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) antigen]. Using multivariate analysis, plasma fibrinogen level was the most uniformly significant parameter. Relative risk estimates indicated that raised plasma fibrinogen, soluble fibrin and D-dimer were associated with increased risk of death. Use of the normal/above normal cut-off is recommended to provide the maximum number of significant parameters relating to prognosis, and increased plasma D-dimer, PAI-1 antigen and fibrinogen were most closely related to survival/prognosis.

Biocompatibility of a cuprophane charcoal-based detoxification device in cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy

Extracorporeal detoxification has been proposed to treat patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) not responding to standard therapy. To investigate the biocompatibility of a cuprophane charcoal-based detoxification device, a prospective, randomized, controlled study was performed. Of 41 consecutive patients with cirrhosis and HE grade II or III who did not improve with conventional treatment, 20 patients (median age, 56 years; range, 33 to 71 years; 13 men) were randomly assigned to either ongoing conventional treatment or one additional 6-hour treatment with a sorbent suspension dialysis system. Main outcome parameters were physiological function and blood parameters of biocompatibility. In the 10 patients undergoing combined conventional and sorbent suspension dialysis treatment, blood pressure remained unchanged and body temperature and heart rate increased (P: < 0.01). Platelet count decreased (medians, from 75 to 26 g/L; P: < 0.001) and international normalized ratio increased after combined treatment (2.0 to 2.2; P: < 0.001). Three patients developed bleeding complications during treatment or shortly after. Treated patients showed increases in levels of plasma elastase (104 to 586 microg/L; P: = 0.001), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (5.4 to 7.5 pg/mL; P: = 0.04), and interleukin-6 (118 to 139 pg/mL; P: = 0.04), but not interferon-gamma and E-selectin. No changes were observed in the 10 patients treated conventionally. In conclusion, despite technical refinements compared with charcoal hemoperfusion, biocompatibility of sorbent suspension dialysis is still very limited. Clinical complications were apparently caused by blood-membrane interactions and disseminated intravascular coagulation. We suggest further developments in design and appropriate strategies of anticoagulation to improve the biocompatibility of artificial liver support.

Markers of activated hemostasis and fibrinolysis in patients with pulmonary malignancies: comparison of plasma levels in central venous and pulmonary venous blood

Malignancy frequently is accompanied by activated coagulation and fibrinolysis indicating a hypercoagulable state. The purpose of our study was to estimate the contribution of local tumor-induced mechanisms to the activation of hemostasis and fibrinolysis. In a prospective study, we compared the plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes, prothrombin fragment 1+2, and D-dimers in blood samples that simultaneously were drawn from the superior vena cava and the pulmonary vein of a tumor-bearing pulmonary lobe. Samples from the superior vena cava were drawn before operation and served as controls. After thoracotomy, a second group of samples was simultaneously taken from the pulmonary veins of the tumor-bearing lobe and the superior vena cava. Forty-five patients with pulmonary malignancies were included (25 adenocarcinomas and 20 squamous cell carcinomas). There were no significant differences of thrombin-antithrombin complexes, prothrombin fragment 1+2, and D-dimers levels in patients suffering from adenocarcinoma and from squamous cell carcinoma. Intraoperatively, prothrombin fragment 1+2 and D-dimers levels were markedly increased when compared with the preoperative values (p<0.0001). There was no increase of thrombin-antithrombin complexes levels due to the operative traumatization. Prothrombin fragment 1+2, thrombin-antithrombin complexes, and D-dimers plasma levels were significantly higher in the pulmonary venous blood than in the blood simultaneously drawn from the superior vena cava (p<0.0001). Our findings indicate that malignant lung tumors directly contribute to the activation of hemostasis and fibrinolysis in these clinical settings.

Plasma D-dimer level in patients with colorectal cancer: its role as a tumor marker

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the preoperative plasma D-dimer (DD) levels and the tumor pathology of colorectal cancer. The plasma DD levels were measured preoperatively in 108 patients with colorectal cancer, and then were correlated with the tumor pathology and stage. The diagnostic value of the DD levels for the tumor stage was then compared with that of the preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. The preoperative DD levels were higher in patients with either a large-sized tumor or a tumor showing deep wall penetration. Lymph-node metastasis, lymphatic invasion, hepatic metastasis, and peritoneal dissemination were all associated with higher DD levels. A stepwise increase in the median DD level was found with the tumor stage. The preoperative DD levels also significantly correlated with CEA levels. When a cutoff value of 0.6 microg/ml was used in the DD assay, the sensitivity and specificity for Dukes C or D cancer were 67.2% and 64.0%, and those for Dukes D cancer were 91.3% and 57.6%, respectively. Although the DD assay was less specific, its diagnostic value in the preoperative staging of colorectal cancer was comparable to that of the CEA assay. The measurement of the preoperative DD level is thus considered to be useful for the preoperative staging of colorectal cancer.

Haemostatic abnormalities in lung cancer: prognostic implications

Both experimental and clinical data have shown that coagulation disorders are common in patients with cancer although clinical symptoms occur rarely. A prethrombotic state is probably involved in the mechanism of metastatic spread. Anticoagulant treatment, with either warfarin or heparin, has been shown to have a positive influence in small cell lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prethrombotic state as a possible marker of the outcome of lung cancer. Pretreatment prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), antithrombin III (AT-III), platelet blood count (P), fibrinogen (F) and D-dimer (DD) were prospectively recorded in a series of 286 consecutive patients with a new primary lung cancer. Other recorded variables (32 in all) consisted of a set of anthropometric, clinical, physical, laboratory, radiological and pathological data. All patients were carefully followed up, and their subsequent clinical course recorded. Spearman rank correlation tests between coagulation factors were weakly significant, or more often non-significant. The best correlation index was that between PT and PTT (ra = -0.25). Univariate analyses of survival showed that a prolonged value of PT (P = 0.00167) and higher values of F (P = 0.00143) and DD (P = 0.0005) were associated with a poor prognosis. A few, weak relationships between well-known prognostic variables and coagulation abnormalities were also found. Because of the weakness of this correlation pattern, coagulation factors emerged in all the Cox's regression analyses as important predictors of survival, regardless of the number and type of cofactors used. A prethrombotic state (depicted by a prolongation of PT and increase of DD) is confirmed in this study as an aggravating condition in lung cancer. Studies attempting to reverse possible haemostatic abnormalities with the use of anticoagulants are justified by the present data.

Hemostatic changes in patients with brain tumors

Abnormal hemostasis is a functional property of cancer. Hemostatic abnormalities are common in patients with systemic malignant disease and brain tumors. However, the incidence of thromboembolism is higher in patients with brain tumors than in those with systemic disease. This raises the question of whether or not hemostatic abnormalities found in the blood of the two groups of patients differs, suggesting different pathogeneses. The purpose of this report is to review abnormalities in blood and clinical manifestations of abnormal hemostasis found in brain tumors and cancer patients in an attempt to answer this question. Normal hemostasis, as currently understood, will be considered with an emphasis on features unique to the central nervous system.