[Cancer procoagulant activity in serum and neoplastic tissue in cases of cervical and uterine carcinoma].

Objectives: Cancer procoagulant (CP) is a sulfhydryl proteinase thought to be synthesized mainly by neoplastic cells. Consequently, increased CP activity in blood serum was interpreted as being associated with the presence of a proliferative process in the host's body. To date, CP activity has not been systematically studied in cases of genital carcinoma. The present study is aimed at evaluation of CP activity in women with genital carcinoma.

Design: A case-controlled study backed up by histopathological examination.

Materials And Methods: Peripheral blood was sampled preoperatively in a sterile manner from an antecubital vein, from 16 women with cervical carcinoma and 15 women with uterine carcinoma. Blood for the reference group of 12 healthy women was obtained in an identical manner after an overnight fast. The CP activity in serum was determined using the coagulative method according to Gordon and Benson, and was expressed as coagulation time in seconds (s). The CP activity in 10% tissue homogenates (in saline) of genital cancer was determined by the chromogenic method according to Colucci et al.

Results: The mean CP activity in serum of women with cervical carcinoma (78.28 +/- 15.25 s) and of women with uterine carcinoma (79.63 +/- 12.02 s) was significantly different (P < 0.0001) from the respective values found in healthy women (281.33 +/- 43.19 s). The CP activity in neoplastic tissue was 28.50 +/- 6.40 nmol pNa/mL for cervical carcinoma, and 28.31 +/- 3.92 nmol pNa/mL for uterine carcinoma, both values being significantly higher (P < 0.0009) than the activity found in the normal tissues. There was no established relationship between neoplastic CP activity and FIGO staging of the disease.

Conclusions: This is the first study to demonstrate the concomitant presence of CP activity in serum and neoplastic tissue of women with genital carcinoma. These patients have decreased coagulation time and thus are likely to develop coagulation disturbances in the course of their cancer. There may be a role for CP as a tumor marker of genital carcinoma.