Evaluation of the performance of a human D-dimer test in dogs with neoplasia.

Beáta Török-Nagy,Lajos Balogh,Péter Vajdovich,Julianna Thuróczy,Béla Dénes

doi:10.1556/004.2020.00050

Abstract

The goal of this study was to evaluate the suitability of a commercially available D-dimer assay as a diagnostic tool for testing dogs. This assay is an immunoturbidimetric diagnostic test, capable of determining the D-dimer levels in human plasma by using 2B9 monoclonal antibody. Plasma samples of clinically healthy (n = 20) and tumour-bearing (n = 50) dogs were measured. The tumours were grouped on the basis of histological type and aggressiveness, and then the measured D-dimer concentrations of these groups were compared to those of the control group. The differences were analysed statistically. For benign tumours, we did not find alterations in the D-dimer levels. However, in the case of malignant tumours (lymphoma, sarcoma, and carcinoma) and in the presence of metastases, significantly elevated D-dimer levels were measured. The assay proved to be suitable for measuring the D-dimer levels in plasma samples of dogs. The calculated reference range for dogs was confirmed to be between 0.06 and 0.69 µg/mL fibrinogen equivalent unit.

Highlights

D-dimer is a cross-linked fibrin degradation product, the level of which increases in the blood during secondary fibrinolysis
Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are usually excluded by the determination of D-dimer concentration and a negative test result referring to a strictly determined cut-off level (Olson et al, 2011)
The objective of the current work was twofold: (1) to evaluate the suitability of a commercially available human D-dimer test for D-dimer concentration measurement in dog plasma, and (2) to determine D-dimer concentration in plasma samples of dogs living with cancer and to assess the correlation between the presence of the tumour, the tumour type based on histology, tumour aggressiveness and D-dimer levels

Summary

Introduction

D-dimer is a cross-linked fibrin degradation product, the level of which increases in the blood during secondary fibrinolysis. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are usually excluded by the determination of D-dimer concentration and a negative test result referring to a strictly determined cut-off level (Olson et al, 2011). The increase in D-dimer levels is not a disease-specific condition and may result from multiple causes. It is not possible to set up a precise diagnosis based exclusively on the increase of D-dimer levels. A connection between malignancy and thrombosis has been observed, as thromboembolism is present in almost half of cancer patients (Falanga and Rickles, 1999). Tumour cells can cause thrombosis by activating the blood clotting cascade or inhibiting the anticoagulant properties of vascular endothelial cells, monocytes, macrophages and platelets

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