Characteristics and significance of changes of thrombomodulin and plasma protein C in patients with cancer before and after PICC

Characteristics and significance of changes of thrombomodulin and plasma protein C in patients with cancer before and after PICC:



Min Yan, Xiang-Tao Pan, Xu Cheng, Ye Lu



Indian Journal of Cancer 2020 57(1):27-30



Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the changes and clinical significance of thrombomodulin (TM) and plasma protein C (PC) in patients with cancer before and after peripherally inserted central catheter placement (PICC).

Materials and Methods: The levels of plasma TM and PC in 35 patients with cancer before and after PICC were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the significance of the differences was analyzed.

Results: TM was 3.57 ± 1.01 μg/L at 1 day after catheterization, which was significantly lower than the value of 4.41 ± 1.26 μg/L before catheterization; these values were 4.30 ± 1.81 and 4.73 ± 0.97 μg/L at 30 and 90 days after catheterization, respectively (F = 4.14,P < 0.05). PC was 3.32 ± 1.35 μg/L at 1 day after catheterization, which was significantly lower than the value of 5.32 ± 2.12 μg/L before catheterization; these values were 4.64 ± 2.44 and 5.83 ± 3.14 μg/L at 30 and 90 days after catheterization, respectively (F = 6.28,P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in platelet (PLT) counts, plasma D-D, and coagulation parameters among the four time points before and after catheterization. There was a positive correlation between TM and PC (r = 0.5420,P < 0.01) on day 1 after PICC line insertion. The levels of TM and PC were not related to PLT, plasma D-dimer, or various coagulation parameters.

Conclusions: The levels of TM and PC in the patients 1 day after PICC were significantly decreased and showed a positive correlation, but were not related to PLT, plasma D-dimer, or coagulation function.