Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;128(9-10):320-8.
doi: 10.1007/s00508-016-0963-3. Epub 2016 Feb 26.

Pre-therapeutic fibrinogen levels are of prognostic significance in locally advanced head and neck cancer

Affiliations

Pre-therapeutic fibrinogen levels are of prognostic significance in locally advanced head and neck cancer

Edgar Selzer et al. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2016 May.

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this retrospective study was to clarify the potential prognostic significance of pre-therapeutic fibrinogen levels in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with curative intent by primary radiotherapy (RT) or with postoperative radiotherapy (PORT).

Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 347 patients with histologically confirmed locally advanced HNSCC. Analysis was conducted separately for the patient collective treated with PORT (N = 141; 85.1 % AJCC stage III/IV) and for patients treated with primary RT (N = 206; 97.1 % AJCC stage III/IV). Kaplan Meier analyses as well as univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed to identify factors associated with overall survival (OS).

Results: The most relevant observation was that plasma fibrinogen levels were significantly associated with a reduction of overall survival rates. In the low-fibrinogen (below 411 mg/dL) postoperatively irradiated group, OS rates at 2 and 3 years were 86 and 83 %, and in the high-fibrinogen group 66 and 51 %, respectively. In the RT group with low fibrinogen levels, OS rates after 2 and 3 years were 74 and 53 %, and in the high-fibrinogen group 40 and 22 %, respectively. In multivariate analysis, elevated fibrinogen concentrations were associated with inferior OS in both the postoperatively (HR = 2.5; p = 0.001) as well as in the primarily irradiated (HR = 1.7; p = 0.003) group.

Conclusions: We conclude from these results that elevated pre-therapeutic fibrinogen may serve as a biomarker associated with worsened prognosis in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients treated by either RT or surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy.

Keywords: Biomarker; Fibrinogen; Head and neck cancer; Prognosis; Radiotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2011 Apr;123(7-8):215-21 - PubMed
    1. Ann Surg Oncol. 2015 Jan;22(1):302-10 - PubMed
    1. Cancer Treat Rev. 2013 Aug;39(5):534-40 - PubMed
    1. J Thromb Haemost. 2013 Jun;11 Suppl 1:294-305 - PubMed
    1. Int J Cancer. 2013 Dec 1;133(11):2720-5 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources