D-dimer as a potential prognostic marker

Malignant tumors are often accompanied by increased risk for procoagulant activity, thrombosis and embolism. As a marker indicating such disturbancies is D-dimer, a product of fibrinolysis. In this retrospective study almost 300 patients with malignant tumors were evaluated. During LMWH treatment (as thromboprophylaxis) the highest frequency of VTE with worst prognosis occurred in pancreatic cancer (partly due to the late discovery) followed by ovarian, colonic and breast cancers. Also, increased D-dimer level correlated with progression (stages) and high mortality rate. Furthermore, D-dimer showed very similar or better prognostic activity than the clinically widely used classic tumor markers and suggested to use it as an additional value..