Neutrophil extracellular traps enhance procoagulant activity in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background Hypercoagulability is a major cancer-associated complication linked to poor patient prognosis. The production of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is increasingly found to be linked with the development and metastasis of cancer, as well as with thrombi formation in cancer patients. We hypothesized that the neutrophil NET release may be triggered by specific cytokines in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, thereby predisposing them to a hypercoagulable state. Moreover, we have evaluated the interaction between NETs and endothelial cells (ECs).