Plasma tissue factor activity in lung cancer patients predicts venous thromboembolism and poor overall survival.

ABSTRACT

Background: Biomarkers to identify lung cancer (LC) patients with high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) are needed. Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of plasma tissue factor activity (TFA) and D-dimer levels for the prediction of VTE and overall survival in patients with LC. Methods: In a prospective multicenter observational cohort of consecutive LC patients, TFA and D-dimer levels were measured at diagnosis before any cancer treatment (V1) and between 8 and 12 weeks after diagnosis (V2). Results: Among 302 patients, 38 (12.6%) experienced VTE within the first year after diagnosis. V1-TFA and V1-D-dimer levels were significantly (P = .02) higher in patients who presented VTE within 3 months than in patients without VTE V1-TFA was 2.02 (25th-75th percentiles, 0.20-4.01) vs 0.49 (0.20-3.09) ng/mL and V1-D-dimer was 1.42 (0.64-4.40) vs 0.69 (0.39-1.53) µg/mL, respectively. Cutoffs of 1.92 ng/mL for TFA and 1.26 µg/mL for D-dimer could discriminate both groups of patients. In multivariate analysis, V1-TFA > 1.92 ng/mL was the only significant predictor of VTE risk at 1 year (hazard ratio, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.06-4.16; P = .03). V2-TFA, quantified in 251 patients, decreased significantly compared with V1-TFA (0.20 vs 0.56 ng/mL, P < .05), but a V2-TFA level > 0.77 ng/mL could predict VTE in the following 3 months. Median overall survival was worse for patients with V1-TFA > 1.92 ng/mL (14.6 vs 23.8 months) and V1-D-dimer > 1.26 µg/mL (13.8 vs 24 months, P < .001). Conclusion: High plasma TFA levels are associated with the occurrence of VTE within the next 3 months after each visit (V1 or V2) and poor survival.