Plasma fibrinogen levels are associated with epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation in Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

The plasma fibrinogen levels had not only been used as an independent prognostic parameter for the patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but also as a promising biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the plasma fibrinogen levels and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation and clinical-pathological characteristics of Chinese patients with NSCLC. In this retrospective study, NSCLC specimens collected from 352 patients between November 2009 and November 2011 were selected to detect EGFR gene mutation with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In these specimens, 308 ones were also detected EGFR gene copy number with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Coagulation makers were examined prior to the operations. The association between the plasma fibrinogen levels and EGFR gene mutation and clinical-pathological characteristics were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 software. The median pre-operation plasma fibrinogen level was 3.55 g/L (109/352) patients with higher plasma fibrinogen level (> 4.0 g/L). The lower plasma fibrinogen levels correlated significantly with EGFR gene mutations (P < 0.001), the similar result was seen in platelet counts (P = 0.026). A linear correlation was found between the plasma fibrinogen levels and the platelet counts in NSCLC patients (R 2 = 0.209, P < 0.001). Pre-operation plasma fibrinogen levels correlated with gender (P < 0.001), smoking status (P < 0.001), and histology (P < 0.001). There were significant link between the above clinical-pathological characteristics and EGFR gene mutations. In addition, EGFR gene mutation was correlated with FISH-positive status (P < 0.001). Moreover, both plasma fibrinogen level (P = 0.024) and the EGFR gene copy number (P = 0.040) had significant relationships with the pathological TNM stage. This study showed that a significant relevance between plasma fibrinogen levels and EGFR gene mutations. The plasma fibrinogen level might be as a clinical decision parameter for evaluating the efficacy of anti-EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in NSCLC. The patients of NSCLC had higher indicate have poor benefits from anti-EFGR TKIs. In addition, pre-operation plasma fibrinogen level could be used as an indepedent prognostic biomarker for the patients with NSCLC.