Published online Jul 15, 2023. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i7.1253
Peer-review started: February 6, 2023
First decision: March 15, 2023
Revised: March 16, 2023
Accepted: May 6, 2023
Article in press: May 6, 2023
Published online: July 15, 2023
Processing time: 156 Days and 5.7 Hours
Bones are one of the most common target organs for cancer metastasis. Early evaluation of bone metastasis (BM) status is clinically significant. Cancer patients often experience a hypercoagulable state.
To evaluate the correlation between coagulation indicators and the burden of BM in gastric cancer (GC).
We conducted a single-center retrospective study and enrolled 454 patients. Clinical information including routine blood examination and coagulation markers were collected before any treatment. Patients were grouped according to the status of BM. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to assess diagnostic performance and determine the optimal cutoff values of the above indicators. Cutoff values, sensitivity and specificity were based on the maximum Youden index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between biomarkers and BM.
Of the 454 enrolled patients, 191 patients were diagnosed with BM. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested that prothrombin time (PT) [cutoff: 13.25; sensitivity: 0.651; specificity: 0.709; area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.738], activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) (cutoff: 35.15; sensitivity: 0.640; specificity: 0.640; AUC = 0.678) and fibrin degradation products (FDP) (cutoff: 2.75; sensitivity: 0.668; specificity: 0.801; AUC = 0.768) act as novel predictors for BM. Based on multivariate logistic regression analysis, the results showed the independent correlation between PT [odds ratio (OR): 3.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.612-6.194; P = 0.001], aPTT (OR: 2.234; 95%CI: 1.157-4.313; P = 0.017) and FDP (OR: 3.17; 95%CI: 1.637-6.139; P = 0.001) and BM in patients with GC. Moreover, age, carcinoembryonic antigen, erythrocyte and globulin were found to be significantly associated with BM.
Coagulation markers, namely PT, aPTT and FDP, might be potential predictors for screening BM in patients with GC.
Core Tip: Bones are one of the most common organs involved in cancer metastasis. Early evaluation of bone metastasis (BM) status is clinically significant. In this study, we confirmed that coagulation markers (prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrin degradation products), carcinoembryonic antigen and globulin are independent risk factors for BM in patients with gastric cancer. Patients with these risk factors should be screened early for BM, which may significantly decrease mortality rates related to BM in patients with gastric cancer.