The relationship between cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy and fibrinolysis in patients with prostatic cancer.

To determine the relationship between cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy and fibrinolysis, fibrinolysis parameters plasminogen, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), were assessed in 12 prostatic cancer patients before and 6 weeks after the onset of estrogen therapy. The levels of plasminogen, u-PA, and PAI-1 in the patients treated with the estrogen therapy were significantly higher than those in the patients before the therapy. The t-PA level in the patients during the therapy was significantly lower than that before the treatment. Cardiovascular complications were found in two patients (16.7%) during estrogen therapy. In the two patients, marked elevation of PAI-1 and decreased level of t-PA were observed during the therapy. These results indicate that cardiovascular complications of estrogen therapy in patients with prostatic cancer may be related to hypofibrinolysis resulting from changes of PAI-1 and t-PA.