Plasma von Willebrand factor antigen levels in non-small cell lung cancer patients

BACKGROUND: To analyze the behavior of circulating von Willebrand factor antigen (vWf:Ag) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Pre-surgical vWf:Ag levels were measured in 64 patients with histologically diagnosed NSCLC compared to 64 patients with benign pulmonary diseases, as well as 64 age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS: Patients with NSCLC had mean vWf:Ag concentrations lower than either controls or benign patients (p =0.001). CEA was the only variable predictive of low vWf:Ag levels (p<0.01). Five of the 64 NSCLC patients had abnormally low vWf:Ag concentrations (<36 IU/dL). When these patients were excluded from the analysis, the vWf:Ag levels of NSCLC patients did not differ from those of controls (p=0.19). CONCLUSION: The vWf antigen levels of NSCLC patients are not substantially altered. A small subset of these patients will have a depletion of circulating vWf:Ag, probably because of a paraneoplastic process associated with an advanced stage of disease