Abstract:

Aim: Cancer patients have a high risk of thromboembolic disease. Although the increased levels of tissue factor (TF) in cancer patients have been reported in various studies, the effect of hormonal therapy i.e. tamoxifen on this manner has not been illuminated yet. Method: In this pilot study, ten patients with localized breast cancer receiving adjuvant tamoxifen were studied for plasma tissue factor levels by the ELISA method, and test results were compared with the results of ten patients with localized breast cancer who not receiving adjuvant tamoxifen treatment. Results: There was a slightly increase of plasma tissue factor levels in tamoxifen terated group compared with control group, but this increase was not statistically significant. Mean plasma TF level of the tamoxifen treated group was 63,87 pg/ml SEM 23,63) (range 12,59 to 267,11) and of the control group was 42,83 pg/ml SEM 7,56) (range 5,43 to 78,88). No thrombotic complications were observed in both groups. Conclusion: According to these results, it is not possible to say that tamoxifen treatment can lead to the increase in plasma tissue factor levels and thereby hypercoagulability in patients with breast cancer. Further studies including more patients are needed to show the difference between two arms.

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