fibrinopeptide-a and Leukemia--Myeloid--Acute

Haemostatic parameters were studied in 31 adult patients treated for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) using the 3 + 7 regimen. Lower values of antithrombin III (AT-III), alpha 2-antiplasmin (alpha 2AP) and plasminogen were observed on days 8 and 14 (P < 0.05). Fibrinopeptide A (FpA) levels were higher at diagnosis (P < 0.05), increased again during chemotherapy on days 4 and 8 and eventually returned to the normal range. Tissue plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor, protein C and fibrin(ogen) degradation products were normal throughout the period of observation. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 19 of 31 patients (61%). In order to compare haemostatic changes in CR patients with those in refractory cases, patients were divided into two groups. In patients with refractory AML (n = 12) AT-III, plasminogen and alpha 2 AP were significantly lower than in those in CR. FpA levels were increased in all patients at diagnosis. This elevation progressed in both groups during chemotherapy (on days 4 and 8) and then normalized only in patients in CR. However, in resistant patients, higher FpA values persisted or even increased further on day 14. The fact that none of our patients suffered from clinically manifest thrombotic complications suggested that haemostasis was well compensated and the observed changes were of no clinical importance, even if they were significant statistically.

Topics: Antithrombin III; Female; Fibrinopeptide A; Hemostasis; Humans; Kinetics; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Male; Plasminogen; Remission Induction

Cytostatic therapy is known to aggravate tumor-induced coagulopathy. Therefore, we have studied the effect of different chemotherapeutic regimens on the activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas or acute leukemias. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients treated with an aggressive protocol (COL-BLAM) and in leukemia patients (TAD-9) fibrinopeptide A, prothrombin fragment (F1 + 2) and thrombin antithrombin III complexes (TAT) increased (Tables 4 and 6), while D-dimer did not deviate significantly. The ratio D-dimer/TAT consequently showed a significant decrease, indicating increased formation of thrombin after release of procoagulant factors, which is not paralleled by an activation of fibrinolysis. Both these groups were also characterized by an increase in uric acid and in C-reactive protein and plasminogen-activator inhibitor, two acute-phase reactants. In contrast, patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas treated with a less aggressive protocol (COP) showed no significant changes in hemostatic variables, uric acid, or acute-phase reactants. The release of procoagulant factors relates to the cytostatic sensitivity of the tumor and to a high tumor-cell destruction. Our results further emphasize the need for large-scale studies on antithrombotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing cytostatic treatment.

Topics: Acute Disease; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Antithrombin III; Bleomycin; Blood Coagulation; Cyclophosphamide; Doxorubicin; Fibrinolysis; Fibrinopeptide A; Humans; Leukemia; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Peptide Hydrolases; Prednisone; Procarbazine; Vincristine

Topics: Fibrinogen; Fibrinopeptide A; Hemorrhagic Disorders; Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Acute; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute; Leukocyte Count; Neoplastic Stem Cells; Thrombin

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) commonly occurs in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL, FAB-M3) but may also be seen in other subtypes of AML. DIC in patients with AML has been attributed to procoagulants released from granular fractions of leukemic blast cells. The present study was designed (i) to evaluate thrombin activity in patients with AML by measuring plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A (FPA) prior to chemotherapy, and (ii) to examine whether a relationship between FPA levels and the number of peripheral blast cells exists. Plasma levels of FPA were determined using a commercially available RIA kit. To remove fibrinogen and the majority of elastase-induced fibrinopeptides (A alpha 1-21) known to crossreact with the FPA (A alpha 1-16) antiserum used in this assay, plasma samples were treated with bentonite prior to further processing. The study was conducted on 5 patients with APL and on 22 patients with other subtypes of AML. Peripheral blast cell counts at initial diagnosis ranged from 2100 to 56,000/microliters in patients with APL and from 1900 to 151,000/microliters in patients with other AML subtypes. The mean (+/- 1 SEM) pretreatment plasma level of FPA was significantly higher (p = 0.021) in the 5 patients with APL (38.2 +/- 8.3 ng/ml) than in patients with other AML subtypes (8.1 +/- 0.7 ng/ml). No relationship was found between peripheral blast cell counts and the corresponding FPA levels in the total group of 27 patients. However, when considering the 5 patients with APL separately, a significant correlation was observed between peripheral blast cell number and FPA plasma levels (r = 0.88, p = 0.050). This study confirms that thrombin generation is considerably greater in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia than in other subtypes of AML. We conclude that type and number of circulating blast cells and their related capacity to express procoagulant activities appear to be major determinants of excessive fibrinogen degradation in AML.

Topics: Blood Cells; Cell Count; Fibrinopeptide A; Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Reference Values; Thrombin

Fibrinopeptide A (FPA) was systematically investigated in 74 patients with acute leukaemia at different stages of the disease (50 with non-lymphocytic leukaemia, ANLL; 24 with lymphocytic leukaemia, ALL). At diagnosis, 75% of the cases had high FPA levels (86% in ANLL and 54% in ALL) with significantly higher levels in ANLL than in ALL (13.4 vs 4.4 ng/ml; p less than 0.001). Patients with DIC (20 cases in ANLL and 1 case in ALL) had significantly higher levels (p less than 0.001). FPA levels were neither correlated with fibrinogen or FDP levels nor with blast cell count. During chemotherapy, median FPA did not show significant changes whereas, at the end of therapy, a return toward normality was generally observed both in ALL and ANLL apart from the group of patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia. Among the 24 patients who entered post-remission follow-up (13 ANLL and 11 ALL), 10 cases out of the 11 relapsing (6/6 with ANLL and 4/5 with ALL) had increased FPA 1 to 2 months before the ascertainment of the relapse. However, 16% and 9% of the samples obtained on different occasions, respectively from ANLL and ALL cases in maintained first remission, showed FPA above the normal limit. This study demonstrates that subclinical activation of blood coagulation, as indicated by high FPA level, is common both in lymphocytic and non-lymphocytic leukemia and suggests that this phenomenon is related to disease activity.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Child; Cytarabine; Daunorubicin; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; Female; Fibrinogen; Fibrinopeptide A; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Radioimmunoassay; Thioguanine; Time Factors

Six patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in association with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) were studied with sensitive radioimmunoassays that are able to quantitate the extent of thrombin generation within the human circulation. The levels of prothrombin activation fragment, F1 + 2, and thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) were obtained at clinical presentation and were then followed serially in several patients during induction chemotherapy. The antileukemic therapy often resulted in a rise in the plasma levels of these molecular species. Simultaneous measurements of fibrinopeptide A (FPA) were also obtained, and the concentrations of this polypeptide were correlated with the levels of F1 + 2 and TAT in patients who were not receiving heparin. Nine individuals with other morphological subtypes of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were investigated and were usually found to have increased levels of F1 + 2, TAT, and FPA at clinical presentation. However, the magnitude of the elevations was considerably greater and the correlation between TAT and FPA levels was stronger in APL than in ANLL. These studies provide direct evidence that patients with APL, as well as ANLL, generate excessive amounts of thrombin within their vascular system. Furthermore, the data suggest that the concentrations of F1 + 2, compared with the levels of FPA, may be a more sensitive indicator of hemostatic system hyperactivity in individuals with DIC.

Topics: Adult; Cytarabine; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; Doxorubicin; Female; Fibrinopeptide A; Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Male; Middle Aged; Prednisolone; Thrombin; Vincristine

This study was made to know the significance of fibrinopeptide A(FPA) as an indicator for coagulative analysis in thrombotic diseases. In normal control subjects (n=21), values of FPA by the radioimmunoassay were 0.5 +/- 1.4 ng/ml (mean +/- SD). In animal models, using Lyoplastin (tissue thromboplastin, n=5) or Ancrod (n=5) to piglets, plasma FPA levels elevated rapidly as a reflection of fibrin formation, and these changes of FPA were found to be most rapid and sensitive among the indicators for coagulation and fibrinolysis. In patients with thrombosis (n=32), elevated FPA levels (14.7 +/- 13.8 ng/ml) and beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG)(86.1 +/- 65.6 ng/ml) were found. FPA levels in these patients positively correlated to beta-TG (r=0.5539, P less than 0.05) and inversely to fibrinogen (fbg) (r= -0.3622, P less than 0.05). In patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML, n=112), acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL, n=18) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL, n=15), mean FPA levels in patients with active signs and symptoms were significantly higher (AML: 13.5 ng/ml, APL: 20.8 ng/ml, ALL: 12.4 ng/ml) than those examined during remission states (AML: 7.7 ng/ml, P less than 0.02, APL: 3.9 ng/ml, P less than 0.01, ALL: 2.7 ng/ml, P less than 0.01). FPA levels in patients with APL inversely correlated to fbg (r= -0.6399, P less than 0.01). In patients with lung cancer (n=75), mean FPA level in advanced stage (17.7 ng/ml, n=67) were significantly higher than those examined in early stage 6.5 ng/ml, n=8, P less than 0.001). In patients with acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (n=12), prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, severely reduced fbg and platelets, and remarkably elevated fibrin degradation product were found. Elevated FPA and beta-TG levels were also found (FPA: 23.5 +/- 15.0 ng/ml, beta-TG: 100.0 +/- 63.0 ng/ml). In five patients with thrombotic diseases who were treated successfully with 12500 IU of heparin per 12 hours (subcutaneous injection), plasma FPA levels were reduced to near normal levels quicker than changes of other indicators. These clinical and experimental data suggested that FPA was an useful indicator for active coagulation process.

Topics: Adult; Animals; Blood Coagulation; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; Female; Fibrin; Fibrinogen; Fibrinopeptide A; Heparin; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphoid; Leukemia, Myeloid; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Radioimmunoassay; Swine; Thrombosis

Plasma fibrinopeptide A (FPA) levels were determined in 20 unselected adult patients with acute nonlymphocytic and lymphocytic leukemia. The mean FPA level in patients with active disease (15.0 ng/ml) was significantly higher than during clinical remission (2.4 ng/ml, p less than 0.01). Elevated FPA levels were observed in patients with all morphological forms of acute leukemia. In the group of patients in clinical remission, 20/47 FPA values remained elevated beyond the normal range, suggesting that low-grade intravascular coagulation was present even when no leukemic cells were observed. Sequential studies revealed reduction of FPA levels to the normal range in five patients who entered clinical remission after chemotherapy and rapid elevation of the levels in eight patients who entered relapse after clinical remission. FPA levels rose significantly in five patients studied during induction chemotherapy. Thus, subclinical activation of blood coagulation, as defined by elevation of plasma FPA level, may occur commonly in acute leukemia. Plasma FPA generation may relate to leukemic disease activity.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Blood Coagulation; Female; Fibrinogen; Fibrinopeptide A; Humans; Leukemia; Leukemia, Lymphoid; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Male; Middle Aged