Predictive value of d-dimer in response to chemotherapy in advanced-stage lung cancer patients

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the association and predictive value of D-dimer levels with chemotherapy response in advanced-stage lung cancer patients. Methods 59 patients and 30 healthy persons were evaluated and analysed; 39 patients had non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 20 small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and all were at an advanced stage. D-dimer levels were measured before and after 3 cycles of combination chemotherapy. D-dimer was measured with Latest method in SAGO STA-Compact Automatic analyzer. Results The level of D-dimer in 59 advanced-stage lung cancer patients was significantly higher than that of normal control (P＜0.01). Not only NSCLC cases but also SCLC patients,D-dimer levels were significantly different between Ⅲ and Ⅳ stage lung cancer. After chemotherapy, the level of D-dimer in NSCLC patients with PR/CR was markedly reduced (P＜0.01), but increased (P＜0.01) in PD cases, and not changed in SD patients. But, we found there were no significant difference in Ddimer plasma levels of SCLC cases for both PR/CR cases and PD patients. Conclusion D-dimer plasma levels decrease or increase after response and progressive disease, respectively. It can act as a predictive factor of the evolution of progressive disease with lung cancer, especially for NSCLC. Key words: Lung cancer; D-dimer; Chemotherapy; Prognosis