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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Author Spotlight: High-Sensitivity Tissue Factor Activity Assay for Plasma Diagnosis
Published on: December 29, 2023
Tissue Factor: A Conventional or Alternative Target in Cancer Therapy
Andreas Eisenreich1, Juliane Bolbrinker2, Ulrike Leppert3
1Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, CC04, Institut für Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Berlin, Germany; andreas.eisenreich@charite.de.
Background:
Tissue factor (TF) is an evolutionary conserved glycoprotein that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. TF is expressed in 2 naturally occurring protein isoforms, membrane-bound full-length (fl)TF and soluble alternatively spliced (as)TF. Both isoforms have been shown to affect a variety of pathophysiologically relevant functions, such as tumor-associated angiogenesis, thrombogenicity, tumor growth, and metastasis. Therefore, targeting TF either by direct inhibition or indirectly, i.e., on a posttranscriptional level, offers a novel therapeutic option for cancer treatment.
Content:
In this review we summarize the latest findings regarding the role of TF and its isoforms in cancer biology. Moreover, we briefly depict and discuss the therapeutic potential of direct and/or indirect inhibition of TF activity and expression for the treatment of cancer.
Summary:
asTF and flTF play important and often distinct roles in cancer biology, i.e., in thrombogenicity and angiogenesis, which is mediated by isoform-specific signal transduction pathways. Therefore, both TF isoforms and downstream signaling are promising novel therapeutic targets in malignant diseases.
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