Investigations of Coagulation System and Fibrinolysis in Patients with Disseminated Adenocarcinomas and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas

Indicating activation of coagulation fibrinopeptide A (FPA) was elevated in 80.1% (mean = 10.5 ng/ml; P less than 0.01) and thrombin-antithrombin III complexes in 58.3% (TAT; mean = 5.3 ng/ml; p less than 0.05) in patients with adenocarcinomas (n = 57). In patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (n = 30), however, elevation was observed only in 66.6% (FPA) and in 42.8% (TAT). Incidence of thrombosis is high only in the first group Local fibrinolysis explains elevated D-dimer in adenocarcinomas (1,818 ng/ml; p less than 0.01) and in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (576 ng/ml; p less than 0.05). Significantly increased t-PA antigen was not committed by adequately increased t-PA activity in adenocarcinomas, because of high levels of the acute-phase protein, plasminogen activator inhibitor (mean = 25.3; p less than 0.01), indicating systemic hypofibrinolysis. Hemostatic disorder in patients with malignancy can be attributed to a combination of acute-phase reaction and an activation of coagulation.