title: Is there any role of thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor in the development of a hypercoagulable state in gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to investigate plasma levels of thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and TAFI's relationship with coagulation markers (prothrombin fragment 1 + 2) in gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and 29 healthy control subjects were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients who had a history of secondary malignancy, thrombosis related disease, oral contraceptive use, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure or similar chronic metabolic disease were excluded from the study. A fasting blood sample was drawn from patients to determine the plasma levels of TAFI and Prothrombin Fragment 1 + 2 (F 1 + 2). In addition, data on patient age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and stage of disease were recorded. The same parameters, except stage of disease, were also recorded for the control group. Subsequently, we assessed the difference in the levels of TAFI and F 1 + 2 between the patient and control groups. Moreover, we investigated the relation of TAFI and F 1 + 2 levels with age, sex, BMI and stage of disease in the gastric cancer group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no statistical differences in any demographic variables (age, gender and BMI) between the groups (Table 1). The mean plasma TAFI levels of the gastric cancer group (69.4 ± 33.1) and control group (73.3 ± 27.5) were statistically similar (P = 0.62). The mean plasma F 1 + 2 level in the gastric cancer group was significantly higher than for those in the control group (549.7 ± 325.3 vs 151.9 ± 67.1, respectively; P < 0.001). In the gastric cancer group, none of the demographic variables (age, gender and BMI) were correlated with either TAFI or F 1 + 2 levels. Also, no significant associations were found between the stage of the cancer and either TAFI or F 1 + 2 levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study, TAFI levels of gastric cancer patients were similar to healthy subjects. The results of our study suggest that TAFI does not play a role in pathogenesis of the hypercoagulable state in gastric cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eser
authors.forename: Metin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kement
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balin
authors.forename: Cihan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kefeli
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gumus
authors.forename: Yunus Emre
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Altuntas
authors.forename: Necmi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: Alparslan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mayadagli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D025901:Carboxypeptidase B2 / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011516:Prothrombin; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D019851:Thrombophilia / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; C045879:prothrombin fragment 1.2; D011516:Prothrombin; D025901:Carboxypeptidase B2