Fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in prostate cancer: Preliminary results

The clinical association between coagulation indexes, platelet-related parameters, and bone metastasis of newly diagnosed prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

At present, much evidence shows that many cancers have a high risk of thrombosis. Several studies have shown the prognostic value of platelet-related parameters and coagulation indexes in prostate cancer (PCa). However, the association between platelet-related parameters, coagulation indexes and bone metastasis of Pca is unclear.

METHODS

A total of 234 pathologically diagnosed patients with Pca were consecutively collected and stratified into the bone metastasis group and non-bone metastasis group according to the results of the bone scan. ROC curve analysis was used to explore the auxiliary predictive value of single and combined parameters for bone metastasis in Pca patients. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between platelet-related parameters, coagulation indexes, and bone metastasis of Pca.

RESULTS

Platelet count (PLT), fibrinogen (Fib), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and D-dimer (DD) levels of the bone metastasis group were significantly higher than the non-bone metastasis group (P = 0.010, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). This study confirmed that PLT, PSA, DD and Fib have auxiliary predictive value for prostate cancer bone metastasis. After the combination of PLT, PSA, DD and Fib, the area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity increased significantly. The univariate logistic analysis demonstrated that PLT (OR: 1.008, P = 0.011), DD (OR: 2.690, P < 0.001), PSA (OR: 1.073, P < 0.001), Gleason score (OR: 7.060, P < 0.001), and Fib (OR: 2.082, P < 0.001) were significantly positively correlated with bone metastasis of Pca. Multivariate analysis showed that PSA (OR: 1.075, P < 0.001), DD (OR: 2.152, P < 0.001), Gleason score (OR: 2.904, P < 0.001), and Fib (OR: 1.706, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for bone metastasis of Pca after adjusting for Age, BMI and other confounding factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher platelet, D-dimer, prostate-specific antigen, Gleason score, and fibrinogen levels may predict a worse prognosis in patients with Pca. PLT, DD, and Fib, as readily available and relatively inexpensive indicators, help predict bone metastasis of Pca. It is suggested that PLT, DD and Fib may be helpful in the risk stratification of Pca.

Paired Analysis of D-Dimer and Its Correlated Hemostatic Parameters in 30 Dogs with Neoplasms after Tumorectomy

Previous studies have reported that dogs with neoplasms had elevated D-dimer levels. However, few studies have addressed whether D-dimer could be an indicator of tumor burden. The clinical significance of paired analysis of pre- and post-operation of D-dimer levels in dogs has rarely been described. The present study investigated the values of D-dimer levels and their correlated hemostatic alterations in dogs with surgically removable benign and malignant tumors. This study analyzed 30 clinically healthy and 30 tumor-bearing dogs and evaluated the hemostatic functions including D-dimer, thromboelastography G (TEG G), fibrinogen, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time, and platelet count. The median level of pre-treatment D-dimer was 0.8 µg/mL (range: 0.1–6.3 µg/mL), whereas the control dogs exhibited a median value of 0.1 µg/mL (range: 0.1–0.1 µg/mL, p < 0.0001). After tumorectomy, the median levels of D-dimer (p < 0.0001), fibrinogen (p < 0.0001), TEG G value (p < 0.01), and aPTT (p < 0.05) were significantly lower than those of the pre-treatment samples. However, further studies are needed to clarify the values of other hemostatic evaluations. The study revealed the clinical significance of D-dimer and its correlated hemostatic parameters by paired analysis in dogs with tumors. Though more cases are needed for solid confirmation, these values could be potential tumor biomarkers for dogs.

Prognostic Value of C-Reactive Protein and Albumin in Neurocritically Ill Patients with Acute Stroke

We evaluated the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, CRP clearance (CRPc) and CRP/albumin ratio (CAR) in neurocritically ill patients with acute stroke. This is a retrospective, observational study. We included acute stroke patients who were hospitalized in the neurosurgical ICU from January 2013 to September 2019. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. A total of 307 patients were enrolled in the study. Among them, 267 (87.0%) survived until discharge from the hospital. CRP and CAR were significantly higher in non-survivors than in survivors (both p < 0.001). Serum albumin levels were significantly lower in the non-survivors than in the survivors (p < 0.001). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for prediction of in-hospital mortality, the area under the curve of CRP (C-statistic: 0.820) and CAR (C-statistic: 0.824) were greater than that of CRPc (C-statistic: 0.650) and albumin (C-statistic: 0.734) (all p < 0.005). However, there was no significant difference in the predictive performance between CRP and CAR (p = 0.287). In this study, CRP and CAR were more important than CRPc and albumin in predicting mortality of neurocritically ill patients with stroke. Early CRP level and CAR determination may help to predict the in-hospital mortality of these patients.

A Novel Combination of Serum Markers in a Multivariate Model to Help Triage Patients Into “Low-” and “High-Risk” Categories for Prostate Cancer

Background

Almost 50,000 men in the United Kingdom (UK) are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer (PCa). Secondary referrals for investigations rely on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and digital rectal examination. However, both tests lack sensitivity and specificity, resulting in unnecessary referrals to secondary care for costly and invasive biopsies.

Materials and Methods

Serum samples and clinical information were collected from N = 125 age-matched patients (n = 61 non-PCa and n = 64 PCa) and analyzed using Biochip Array Technology on high-sensitivity cytokine array I (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1α, IL-1β, TNFα, MCP-1, INFγ, EGF, and VEGF), cerebral array II (CRP, D-dimer, neuron-specific enolase, and sTNFR1), and tumor PSA oncology array (fPSA, tPSA, and CEA).

Results

The data showed that 11/19 (68.8%) markers were significantly different between the non-PCa and the PCa patients. A combination of EGF, log₁₀ IL-8, log₁₀ MCP-1, and log₁₀ tPSA significantly improved the predictive potential of tPSA alone to identify patients with PCa (DeLong, p < 0.001). This marker combination had an increased area under the receiver operator characteristic (0.860 vs. 0.700), sensitivity (78.7 vs. 68.9%), specificity (76.5 vs. 67.2%), PPV (76.2 vs. 66.7%), and NPV (79.0 vs. 69.4%) compared with tPSA.

Conclusions

The novel combination of serum markers identified in this study could be employed to help triage patients into “low-” and “high-risk” categories, allowing general practitioners to improve the management of patients in primary care settings and potentially reducing the number of referrals for unnecessary, invasive, and costly treatments.

Elevated Fibrinogen Level Reduces Therapeutic Efficiency of AD Drugs: Biophysical Insights into the Interaction of FDA-Approved Cholinesterase Inhibitors with Human Fibrinogen

Despite being the second most abundant protein in blood plasma, reports on the interaction of drugs with fibrinogen (FIB) are relatively scarce. The effect of FIB on the therapeutic potency of four FDA-approved Alzheimer's disease drugs, namely, tacrine (TAC), donepezil (DON), eserine (ESE), and huperzine (HUP), was investigated through a combination of different in vitro and in silico experiments. The efficiency of the drugs in inhibiting the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was significantly reduced in the presence of FIB. This effect was even found to be more substantial than that for the most abundant plasma protein, human serum albumin (HSA). For example, the relative change in IC₅₀ for TAC was found to be 65% in 10 μM FIB as opposed to 43% in the presence of 250 μM HSA. The relative trend of modulation in AChE activity showed consistency with the binding efficiency of the drugs and FIB. The sequestration of drugs in FIB, therefore reducing the availability of free drugs in solution, was identified to be the primary cause for the decrease in the AChE inhibition potency. This study aims to establish FIB as a vital component, while considering the therapeutic effectiveness of different newly developed AChE inhibitors.

D-Dimer: A Potential Solution to Problems of Cancer Screening, Surveillance, and Prognosis Assessment

Research has established a direct link between the plasma level of D-dimer and underlying malignancy. D-dimer has a strong association with the detection and prognosis of several cancers. For these reasons, this literature review aimed to evaluate the usefulness of elevated D-dimer levels in the initial screening of cancer, cancer recurrence surveillance, and for use as a cancer prognostic tool. A search of PubMed up to February 1, 2021, was carried out by reviewers. This literature review includes studies investigating the relationship between pretreatment plasma D-dimer levels and cancer. From the findings, pretreatment D-dimer levels can assist with cancer screening and prognosis assessment. Pretreatment plasma D-dimer levels can function as an effective cancer recurrence control. Elevated pre-treatment plasma D-dimer concentration is valuable in facilitating cancer screening, predicting an augmented risk of cancer recurrence, and anticipating a worse cancer prognosis.

Preoperative risk stratification using plasma fibrinogen levels can predict lymphovascular invasion and poor prognosis in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma

It has been previously indicated that preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels can correlate with cancer progression and be used as a useful predictor of lymph node metastasis or its premetastatic status such as lymphovascular invasion (LVI). In the present study, how preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels, considered in conjunction with other clinicopathological factors, can predict the presence of LVI and prognosisin patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) was examined. Medical records of 145 patients with UTUC who underwent radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) were retrospectively reviewed. The current study evaluated systemic inflammatory response markers including levels of plasma fibrinogen and other clinicopathological factors in orderto determine independent predictors of LVI and prognosis. The Cox proportional hazards model indicated that positive surgical margins and LVI were independent factors for poor cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates and extraurothelial recurrence-free survival (ERFS) rates. In addition, positive cytology, the presence of hydronephrosis and plasma fibrinogen levels were significant preoperative predictors of LVI. Furthermore, patients exhibiting two or more of higher fibrinogen levels (≥400 mg/dl), positive urine cytology and the presence of hydronephrosis were indicated to exhibit worse CSS or ERFS rates compared with patients exhibiting only one of the aforementioned factors or those with none of the three aforementioned factors in the multivariate analysis of the Cox proportional hazards model. In conclusion, hyperfibrinogenemia can be an independent predictor of the presence of LVI, and stratifying preoperative risk using fibrinogen levels, urine cytology and hydronephrosis can serve as the basis for selecting candidates for additional therapy before and/or after RNU in patients with UTUC.

Systemic Coagulation Markers Especially Fibrinogen Are Closely Associated with the Aggressiveness of Prostate Cancer in Patients Who Underwent Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Biopsy

Objective

It has been well elucidated that multiple types of cancers are at high risk of thrombosis. Several studies have indicated the prognostic value of fibrinogen (Fib) and D-dimer (DD) in prostate cancer (PCa). However, it remains unclear regarding the association of the comprehensive coagulation markers with the clinicopathological features of PCa.

Methods

A total of 423 pathologically diagnosed patients with PCa were consecutively collected and stratified as low-intermediate-risk or high-risk groups. The association of coagulation parameters including Fib, DD, prothrombin (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and antithrombin III (AT-III) with clinicopathological features was determined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

The levels of Fib, DD, and PT were significantly higher in the high-risk group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.043, resp.), while APTT, TT, and AT-III were similar between two groups (p > 0.05, all). Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that Fib, DD, and PT were all positively correlated with high-risk PCa (OR = 2.041, p < 0.001; OR = 1.003, p < 0.001; OR = 1.247, p = 0.044). Nonetheless, after adjusting for PSA, grade, and stage, Fib (T3 vs. T1, OR = 15.202, 95% CI: 1.725-133.959, p = 0.014) but not DD or PT was the unique independent factor associated with high-risk PCa in the multivariate regression analysis.

Conclusions

Our study firstly revealed that Fib but other coagulation markers was independently associated with the severity of PCa, suggesting Fib might be useful in PCa risk stratification beyond PSA, stage, and grade.

Is Preoperative Fibrinogen Associated with the Survival Prognosis of Gastric Cancer Patients? A Multi-centered, Propensity Score-Matched Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

The prognostic significance of preoperative plasma fibrinogen in patients with operable gastric cancer remains under debate. This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic value of fibrinogen in gastric cancer patients underwent gastrectomy.

METHODS

A total of 4351 patients with gastric cancer collected from three comprehensive medical centers were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were categorized by minimum P value using X-tile, while the baseline confounders for fibrinogen was balanced through propensity score matching (PSM). The relationships between fibrinogen and other clinicopathologic features were evaluated, and nomogram was constructed to assess its prognostic improvement compared with TNM staging system.

RESULTS

Fibrinogen was significantly correlated with macroscopic type, tumor differentiation, tumor size, and T and N stage. The factors, fibrinogen and T stage as well as N stage, were identified to be independent prognostic factors after PSM. Nomogram based on fibrinogen demonstrated a smaller Akaike information criterion (AIC) and a larger concordance index (C-index) than TNM staging system, illustrating that fibrinogen might be able to improve the prognostic accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative plasma fibrinogen levels in gastric cancer patients were significantly correlated with tumor progression, which could be regarded as a reliable marker for survival prognostic prediction.

D-Dimer Combined with Fibrinogen Predicts the Risk of Venous Thrombosis in Fracture Patients

Objective

While D-dimer can successfully diagnose venous thrombosis due to its excellent negative predictive value (NPV), it cannot be used to detect venous thromboembolism (VTE) because of its low positive predictive value (PPV). This study aims to investigate if a combination of using D-dimer and fibrinogen can improve PPV in the VTE diagnosis.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed various data including D-dimer, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, ultrasound, and others collected from 10775 traumatic fracture patients and categorized them into two groups of VTE and non-VTE. By comparing the difference between the two groups, we employ multiple logistic regression to find risk factors that are useful to detect VTE. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic yield of using fibrinogen, D-dimer, and their combination, respectively. Also, these data were classified into quartiles by patient age. We perform the same analysis on the quartiles and find if the patient's age has an impact on diagnosing VTE.

Results

The univariate analysis demonstrated that five factors of age, D-dimer, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significant to predict VTE. ROC showed that D-dimer was more useful than fibrinogen for the diagnosis of VTE, while the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.7296 for D-dimer and 0.5209 for fibrinogen. The cutoff point of D-dimer and fibrinogen was 424.89 ng/ml and 3.543 g/L, respectively. The specificity of fibrinogen was 0.777 which was better than D-dimer, while the sensitivity of fibrinogen was lower than that of D-dimer. Both PPV and NPV were similar in D-dimer and fibrinogen. The PPV of combining D-dimer and fibrinogen in ages Q3 (60 < age ≤ 70) and Q4 (age > 70) was better than using either D-dimer or fibrinogen.

Conclusions

Fibrinogen is a promising strategy for the diagnosis of subclinical VTE and postoperative VTE. In particular, a combination of D-dimer and fibrinogen can improve the PPV to successfully diagnose VTE in traumatic fracture patients who are more than 60 years old. Levels of Evidence. This assay is a diagnostic test at level II.

Prognostic Value of the Preoperative Plasma D-Dimer Levels in Patients with Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma in a Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose

Elevated plasma D-dimer levels were thought to be associated with decreasing survival in various cancers. The relationship between plasma D-dimer levels and clinicopathology and the optimal D-dimer cutoff as a prognostic predictor has not been determined in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of preoperative plasma D-dimer levels as a predictor of patient outcomes in UTUC following radical nephroureterectomy.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively reviewed data for 232 patients. The D-dimer cutoff value was set at 0.36 mg/L, and we used the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards regression models to analyze the association between D-dimer levels and oncological outcomes. Multivariate Cox regression was used to develop a nomogram, which we evaluated for accuracy using a receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis.

Results

Plasma D-dimer levels ≥0.36 mg/L were significantly associated with advanced tumor status regarding size, location, hydronephrosis, tumor grade, lymph node involvement, grade, and stage (all p < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that plasma D-dimer levels ≥0.36 mg/L predicted worse oncological outcomes vs levels <0.36 mg/L (all p < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that elevated preoperative plasma D-dimer level was an independent predictor of recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio (HR): 1.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-2.63; p = 0.025), cancer-specific survival (HR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.30-4.19; p = 0.004), and overall survival (HR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.18-3.34; p = 0.010). We also developed a nomogram predicting 3- and 5-year overall survival probability.

Conclusion

D-dimer levels may be a useful prognostic predictor of survival and improve risk stratification and precisely individualize treatment for patients with UTUC.

Prognostic value of plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in patients with surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

A high plasma level of either fibrinogen or D-dimer has been shown to correlate with a poor prognosis in patients with surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to identify whether or not both markers combined had a superior prognostic value to either alone.

METHODS

Of the 1344 patients who underwent surgical resection for NSCLC at our institution between January 2007 and December 2016, 1065 had preoperative plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer data available and were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

The recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were similar for patients with high plasma levels of either or both fibrinogen (> 4.0 g/L) or D-dimer (> 1.0 μg/mL); therefore, these three groups were combined for a further analysis into a single group with high plasma levels of either or both proteins. The high-level group had significantly lower 5-year RFS (53% vs. 68%, p < 0.001) and 5-year OS (65% vs. 80%, p < 0.001) rates than patients with normal plasma levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer (control group).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that preoperative tests for both plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer are necessary to identify patients with surgically resected NSCLC likely to have a poor RFS and OS.

Clinical association between pre-treatment levels of plasma fibrinogen and bone metastatic burden in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients

Background:

Due to the different treatments for low-volume metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) as well as high-volume ones, evaluation of bone metastatic status is clinically significant. In this study, we evaluated the correlation between pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen and the burden of bone metastasis in newly diagnosed PCa patients.

Methods:

A single-center retrospective analysis, focusing on prostate biopsies of newly diagnosed PCa patients, was performed. A total of 261 patients were enrolled in this study in a 4-year period. All subjects were submitted to single-photon emission computerized tomography-computed tomography to confirm the status of bone metastasis and, if present, the number of metastatic lesions would then be calculated. Clinical information such as age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), fibrinogen, clinical T stage, and Gleason score were collected. Patients were divided into three groups: (i) a non-metastatic group, (ii) a high volume disease (HVD) group (>3 metastases with at least one lesion outside the spine), and (iii) a low volume disease (LVD) group (metastatic patients excluding HVD ones). The main statistical methods included non-parametric Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and logistic regression.

Results:

Fibrinogen positively correlated with Gleason score (r = 0.180, P = 0.003), PSA levels (r = 0.216, P < 0.001), and number of metastatic lesions (r = 0.296, P < 0.001). Compared with the non-metastatic and LVD groups, the HVD group showed the highest PSA (104.98 ng/mL, median) and fibrinogen levels (3.39 g/L, median), as well as the largest proportion of Gleason score >7 (86.8%). Both univariate (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16, 95% confidential interval [CI]: 1.536–3.038, P < 0.001) and multivariate (OR = 1.726, 95% CI: 1.206–2.472, P = 0.003) logistic regressions showed that fibrinogen was independently associated with HVD. The ROC curve suggested that fibrinogen acts as a predictor of HVD patients, yielding a cut-off of 3.08 g/L, with a sensitivity of 0.684 and a specificity of 0.760 (area under the curve = 0.739, 95% CI: 0.644–0.833, P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

Pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen is positively associated with bone metastatic burden in PCa patients. Our results indicate that fibrinogen might be a potential predictor of HVD.

Preoperative Plasma Fibrinogen and D-dimer as Prognostic Biomarkers for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

PURPOSE

To assess the ability of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer as biomarkers to predict survival outcomes in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 206 NMIBC patients receiving transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) were assessed in our retrospective study. The cutoff values of fibrinogen and D-dimer were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Cox regression analyses were adopted to assess the influence of these two parameters on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

The cutoff values of fibrinogen and D-dimer were 3.56 g/L and 0.48 μg/mL, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were significantly related to poor RFS (all P < .001) and PFS (all P < .001). Moreover, patients with elevated fibrinogen levels tended to have high tumor grade (P = .033), advanced pathologic T stage (P < .001), and multiple tumor lesions (P = .019). Significant associations of high D-dimer levels with advanced pathologic T stage (P = .026), large tumor size (P = .012), and multiple tumor lesions (P = .006) were found. In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer were all independent predictive factors for RFS (P = .029 and .001, respectively) and PFS (P = .023 and .003, respectively).

CONCLUSION

High levels of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer may indicate advanced clinicopathologic features and worse prognosis, suggesting that these two coagulation parameters could be used as prognostic biomarkers for NMIBC patients.

The positive immunostaining of TMPRSS2-ERG is not associated with unfavourable outcomes and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy in Turkish patients

Introduction

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and a major significant health problem amongst men in the world. Radical prostatectomy with open, laparoscopic and robotic techniques is the gold standard treatment for localized and local advanced disease. There are some risk factors including gleason score, T stage and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level to predict the biochemical recurrence. We investigated the association with biochemical recurrence and TMPRSS2:ERG fusion in patients who were treated with open radical prostatectomy.

Material and methods

The expression of TMPRSS2:ERG was defined as positive (Group 1) and negative (Group 2). The positive staining of the patients is classified into three groups; weak positive, moderate positive and strong positive. In the statistical analyses; chi squared test and Mann Whitney U were used and p <0.05 was defined as statistical significance.

Results

The present study includes 87 patients, 32 and 55 patients were in group 1 and 2 respectively. The mean age of the patients was 62.81 +5.55 and 64.45 +5.18 in the groups without significant difference. Extraprostatic extension was reported in 27 patients; 11 of these patients were in group 1 and 16 patients were in group 2 (p = 0.60). Biochemical recurrence was detected in 15 patients. Of these patients, 5 were in group 1 and 10 were in group 2 (p = 0.76).

Conclusions

The current study found no association between TMPRSS2:ERG fusion and biochemical recurrence and unfavourable pathological results in Turkish patients. Further research including a large number of patients from different regions of Turkey is needed to investigate the ERG status and biochemical recurrence for patients.