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Prognostic and predictive value of plasma D-dimer in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing first-line chemotherapy

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Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have demonstrated that plasma D-dimer, a degradation product of cross-linked fibrin, correlated with tumor stage and prognosis in cancer patients. The aim of this study is to examine whether plasma D-dimer levels before and during chemotherapy predict tumor response and survival in advanced NSCLC patients undergoing first line chemotherapy.

Methods

Plasma D-dimer levels before (B0), and after one (B1) and two (B2) cycles of chemotherapy in 82 patients with advanced NSCLC were measured and correlated with treatment response, clinical features, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival.

Results

A significant correlation was identified between changes in D-dimer levels before and after two chemotherapy cycles and treatment response. In addition, there were significant correlations between D-dimer positivity at B0, B1 and B2 time points and tumor stage, number of metastatic sites and treatment response. Patients with positivity of D-dimer at B0, B1 and B2 had significantly shorter PFS compared with those with negativity. Notably, positivity of D-dimer at B1 and B2 time points was an independent predictive factor for unfavorable PFS.

Conclusions

The positivity of D-dimer before and during chemotherapy is a predictor of treatment response and worse PFS in patients with advanced NSCLC. D-dimer levels provide prognostic information in addition to that of imaging studies.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, 438 North Jiefang Street, Zhenjiang, 212001, China

    L.-P. Ge, J. Li, Q.-L. Bao, P. Chen & L.-R. Zhu

  2. Center of Experimental Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China

    Q. Jiang

Authors
  1. L.-P. Ge
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  2. J. Li
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  3. Q.-L. Bao
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  4. P. Chen
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  5. Q. Jiang
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  6. L.-R. Zhu
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Correspondence to J. Li.

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Ge, LP., Li, J., Bao, QL. et al. Prognostic and predictive value of plasma D-dimer in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing first-line chemotherapy. Clin Transl Oncol 17, 57–64 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-014-1198-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-014-1198-2

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