Objective: To investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative plasma fibrinogen concentration, with particular focus on tumor dissemination and nodal involvement, in a substantial cohort of patients with endometrial cancer.
Methods: The study population comprised 336 women with endometrial cancer who underwent surgical staging at two tertiary institutions, from 2000 to 2009. Pretreatment plasma samples from the study cohort were assayed for fibrinogen by the Clauss assay. Information on demographics, laboratory testing, histopathology and follow-up was gathered from databases of prospectively collected data. Factors associated with survival were identified in a Cox proportional hazards model. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate predictors of extrauterine disease and nodal metastasis.
Results: One-hundred-thirty-seven (40.8%) patients exhibited preoperative hyperfibrinogenemia. Univariate analysis demonstrated that histological type, tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, surgical stage, patient age, and hyperfibrinogenemia affect disease-free (DFS) and overall survival rates significantly. When these variables were entered simultaneously into a Cox regression model, raised preoperative levels of plasma fibrinogen retained significance as poor prognosticator of DFS (HR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1-3.6) and overall survival (HR 2.7, 95%CI 1.3-5.5). Preoperative hyperfibrinogenemia was an independent determinant of extrauterine disease (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.3-5.6). In the subcohort of women with endometrioid histology, increased fibrinogen concentration at presentation was predictive of pelvic nodal involvement (OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.1-11.7).
Conclusion: Plasma fibrinogen level may be of value in the prediction of outcome, improve the stratification of endometrial cancer patient, at diagnosis, based on their risk of recurrence, and possibly alter their treatment accordingly.
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