Haemostasis activation markers in plasma of patients with benign and malignant gynaecological tumours: a pilot study.

Coagulation and fibrinolysis activation have been investigated in fifty-eight women with recently detected gynaecological tumours. Twenty-six were benign and 32 malignant: of the last group nine patients had metastases. A control group consisted of 31 age-matched healthy women. Prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, thrombin-antithrombin III and D-dimer were measured. The median values of all analytes were significantly higher in the malignant tumour group, but not in the benign tumour group, as compared to the control group. The group of patients with a gynaecological tumour and metastases differed from the non-metastasized tumour group in prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, thrombin-antithrombin III and D-dimer. In the non-metastasized malignant tumour group solely prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 was significantly higher than in the benign tumour group. Coagulation and fibrinolysis predominating as can be derived from the elevated D-dimer/thrombin-antithrombin III and D-dimer/prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 ratios. The studied constituents do not enable a differentiation between the benign and malignant processes. However, as the differences of these values in both malignant tumour groups were significant, this might be used to trace the existence of metastases in gynaecological tumours. Investigation of these analytes in several specific types of gynaecological tumours might be clinically relevant.