Correlation between plasma D-dimer levels and clinicopathologic characteristics of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To determine the relationship among tumor malignancy, invasion, and plasma D-dimer (DD) levels via a retrospective analysis of the correlation between preoperative plasma DD levels and postoperative pathology parameters in esophageal cancer patients. Methods:A total of 101 esophageal cancer patients without coagulation among preoperative plasma DD levels and postoperative pathology parameters in esophageal cancer patients who underwent radical operation between January 2009 to April 2010 were enrolled. The preoperative plasma DD levels, postoperative pathology T, N Grade, number of metastatic lymph nodes, tumor posi-tion, tumor length, and TNM stage were recorded. A statistic analysis of the above parameters was performed to reveal the correlation between plasma DD levels and tumor pathology features. Results:Preoperative plasma DD level has no correlation with Grade and tu-mor length, but shows positive correlation with pathology T, N status, and TNM stage, and has strong positive correlation with numbers of metastatic nodes. In addition, lower-third thoracic esophageal cancer patients have higher DD level than middle-third thoracic cases. Conclusion:Plasma DD level has a positive correlation with T stage, N stage, TNM stage, and number of positive lymph nodes. It also has important clinical significance.

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of Fibrin Monomer in Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / 대한진단검사의학회지

BACKGROUND: Fibrin-related markers (FRM) such as fibrin monomer (FM) and D-dimer (DD) are considered useful biological markers for the diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). However, no studies on the diagnostic performance of different FRMs have been published in Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of FM for DIC in comparison with DD. METHODS: The reference limit of FM was determined based on plasma sample data obtained from 210 control individuals. To evaluate diagnostic performance, FM data from the plasma samples of 139 patients with DIC-associated diseases were obtained for DIC scoring. FM was measured by immunoturbidimetry using STA-LIATEST FM (Diagnostica Stago, France). Patients were classified according to the DIC score as non-DIC, non-overt DIC, or overt DIC. ROC curve analyses were performed. RESULTS: The reference limit in the control individuals was determined to be 7.80 microg/mL. Patients with DIC-associated diseases were categorized as non-DIC (N=43), non-overt DIC (N=80), and overt DIC (N=16). ROC curve analyses showed that the diagnostic performance of FM was comparable to DD in both non-overt DIC and overt DIC (P=0.596 and 0.553, respectively). In addition, FM had higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value than DD for differentiating overt DIC from non-DIC. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the diagnostic performance of FM for DIC was comparable to DD. FM might be more sensitive and more specific than DD in the diagnosis of overt DIC, but not non-overt DIC.

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of Fibrin Monomer in Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / 대한진단검사의학회지

BACKGROUND: Fibrin-related markers (FRM) such as fibrin monomer (FM) and D-dimer (DD) are considered useful biological markers for the diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). However, no studies on the diagnostic performance of different FRMs have been published in Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of FM for DIC in comparison with DD. METHODS: The reference limit of FM was determined based on plasma sample data obtained from 210 control individuals. To evaluate diagnostic performance, FM data from the plasma samples of 139 patients with DIC-associated diseases were obtained for DIC scoring. FM was measured by immunoturbidimetry using STA-LIATEST FM (Diagnostica Stago, France). Patients were classified according to the DIC score as non-DIC, non-overt DIC, or overt DIC. ROC curve analyses were performed. RESULTS: The reference limit in the control individuals was determined to be 7.80 microg/mL. Patients with DIC-associated diseases were categorized as non-DIC (N=43), non-overt DIC (N=80), and overt DIC (N=16). ROC curve analyses showed that the diagnostic performance of FM was comparable to DD in both non-overt DIC and overt DIC (P=0.596 and 0.553, respectively). In addition, FM had higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value than DD for differentiating overt DIC from non-DIC. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the diagnostic performance of FM for DIC was comparable to DD. FM might be more sensitive and more specific than DD in the diagnosis of overt DIC, but not non-overt DIC.