Selected Biomarkers of Coagulation Disturbance in Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Coagulation disturbance can be quite detrimental to health, whether as a primary disorder or secondary to other medical conditions. The risk of thrombosis has been previously reported in breast cancer. This case- control study purposively enrolled 50 newly diagnosed female breast cancer patients. Quick's One-stage method was used for prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) tests, while fibrin plate lysis method was used for euglobulin lysis time (ELT) assessment. Data analysis was carried out on statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Mean values of PT, APTT and ELT of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were compared to values from control subjects. The ELT was significantly prolonged in the breast cancer patients compared to that of controls (p = 0.001). These measured parameters were further compared within the breast cancer group on the basis of hours of immobility per day into three categories (<3 hours, 3-6 hours and >6 hours).  Subjects with more than 6 hours of immobility Subjects with more than 6 hours of immobility per day had significantly prolonged ELT compared to those with lesser hours of immobility. This study concludes that fibrinolytic challenge exists in breast cancer prior to commencement of treatment particularly among patients with increasing immobility.