Association of deep venous thrombosis with prothrombotic gene polymorphism identified in lung cancer cases

Venous thrombosis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with malignancies. We aimed to investigate the association between prothrombotic gene polymorphisms detected in lung cancer cases and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Totally 66 patients with an established diagnosis of lung cancer, of which 33 developed DVT, were enrolled. Multiplex PCR technique and reverse hybridization strip assay were performed on DNA extracted from peripheral blood, in order to analyze prothrombin G20210A, factor V G1691A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and glycoprotein IIIa (Gp IIIa) gene mutations. Among prothrombotic gene polymorphisms investigated in this study, the commonest ones were PAI-1 4G/5G (56% heterozygous, 39% homozygous) and ACE gene mutations (58% heterozygous, 17% homozygous). The presence of homozygous MTHFR A1298C mutation was significantly associated with DVT (P=0.020). Comparing the lung cancer patients with and without DVT, only MTHFR A1298C gene polymorphism differed significantly (P=0.040). We determined a higher rate of prothrombotic gene mutations in lung cancer patients who developed DVT. However, statistical significance was achieved only for MTHFR A1298C gene mutation. Therefore, nongenetic factors for disturbance of hemostatic metabolism should also be considered in lung cancer patients.