Serum levels of tissue factor in colorectal cancer patients

Background. The expression of tissue factor (TF), the cellular receptor of clotting factor VII/VIIa, is a feature of certain malignant tumors, but the clinical significance of TF in colorectal cancer has not yet been clarified. Methods. The serum levels of TF and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) were determined in 20 healthy persons and 66 colorectal cancer patients. Results. TF levels in colorectal cancer patients (median, 185.7; range, 64.5–420pg/ml) were significantly higher (P = 0.03) than in controls (median, 180.8; range, 65.2290.9 pg/ml). There was a significant correlation between serum levels of TF and TFPI, both in healthy persons (Spearmanr = 0.509;P = 0.02) and colorectal cancer patients (Spearmanr = 0.425;P = 0.0004). There was no significant correlation between levels of TF and the largest diameter of colorectal cancer, and no correlation of TF with any cancer stage. However, serum levels of TF in patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (median, 315.7; range, 281.4–367.9pg/ml) were significantly higher (P = 0.002) than levels in patients with well differentiated adenocarcinoma (median, 176.0; range, 64.5–401.3 pg/ml). There was no significant difference between TFPI levels in colorectal cancer patients and those in healthy persons. Serum levels of TFPI did not correlate with any clinicopathologic features of colorectal cancer. Conclusions. These results suggest that TF in serum is related to the differentiation of colorectal carcinoma, but that neither TF nor TFPI in the serum has prognostic significance in colorectal cancer patients.