β-thromboglobulin in patents with breast cancer

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Abstract
β-thromboglobulin (βTG) plasma levels were determined in 52 female breast cancer patients at different stages and in 39 healthy controls (22 women and 17 men) of similar age distribution. βTG levels were high (mean ± SD: 61.6 ± 59.1 ng/ml) in patients before any treatment compared to controls (mean ± SD: 21.2 ± 7.4 ng/ml) and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). No correlation with disease stage was observed. No other coagulation parameters were abnormal except fibrinogen, which increased. Fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) also increased but only in metastatic patients. Chemotherapy appeared to induce a considerable decrease in initial values at the end of the first cycle without modifying the platelet count. In addition, an attempt was made to correlate the βTG plasma level investigated serially for several months with disease evolution.