High Fibrinopeptide A (FPA) Levels in Acute Non-Lymphocytic Leukemia Are Reduced by Heparin Administration

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Abstract
Plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A (FPA) in 30 untreated patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were significantly higher than in 30 healthy controls (p 3 leukemia had a higher mean FPA level (p 3 were excluded, a significant correlation was observed between the peripheral blast cell counts and the FPA levels (r = 0.66, p <0.001). FPA levels were similar with body temperature either above or below 38° C. After intravenous bolus of heparin FPA dropped to normal levels in 14 out of 17 patients who had high baseline values. These findings indicate that intravascular thrombin formation, which probably result from the expression of procoagulant activities of blast cells, is the main cause of high FPA in the majority of patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.