High concentration of the plasma microparticles for venous thromboembolism associated with lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Limited biomarkers are used for predicting risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with cancer. Circulating microparticles (MPs), especially tissue factor- positive microparticles (TF + MPs), play an important role in the development of cancer-associated VTE. This study investigated the predictive value of plasma MPs and TF + MPs for VTE in lung cancer. METHODS: A case-control study was performed using the Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital Lung Cancer Registry. Cases had VTE occurring 3 months before or after a diagnosis of lung cancer. Controls were patients with lung cancer without VTE matched for age, histology and stage. The proportion of MPs and TF + MPs was evaluated by light-scatter-based flow cytometry. RESULTS: Between January 2012 and December 2015, 30 cases with VTE and 60 controls without VTE were included. The proportion of MPs and TF + MPs was significantly more elevated in patients with VTE than in those without VTE (P < 0.05 for both). By multivariate logistic regression analysis, MPs (OR 1.153; 95% CI 1.068-1.245; P < 0.001) and adenocarcinoma (OR 3.223; 95% CI 1.062-9.782; P = 0.039) were significantly associated with VTE. The sensitivity of the proportion of MPs in diagnosing VTE was 93.3%, and the specificity was 70.0%. The sensitivity of the proportion of TF + MPs in diagnosing VTE was 66.7%, and the specificity was 88.3%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the diagnostic of the proportion of MPs and TF + MPs values were 0.836 (95% CI 0.750-0.922, P < 0.001) and 0.828 (95% CI 0.736-0.920, P < 0.001) respectively. CONCLUSION: The elevated proportion of MPs and TF + MPs might help predict VTE associated with lung cancer.