The evaluation of demographic factors, clinicopathological characteristics and plasma D-dimer levels among breast cancer patients

Tasnova Tabassom; Lovely Adhikary; Nirjhar Saha; Gobinda Chowdhury; M. Jahidul Kabir; Faima Amin Liza; Chandana Rani Bhowmick

doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20264151

Authors

Tasnova Tabassom Department of Pathology, Netrokona Medical College, Netrokona, Bangladesh
Lovely Adhikary Department of Pathology, Ad-din Sakina Women's Medical College, Jashore, Bangladesh
Nirjhar Saha Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Gobinda Chowdhury Department of Pathology, Netrokona Medical College, Netrokona, Bangladesh
M. Jahidul Kabir Department of Pathology, Netrokona Medical College, Netrokona, Bangladesh
Faima Amin Liza Department of Pathology, Netrokona Medical College, Netrokona, Bangladesh
Chandana Rani Bhowmick Community Based Medical College, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20264151

Keywords:

Breast cancer, D-dimer, Tumor size, Lymph node metastasis, Lymphovascular invasion, Prognostic biomarker

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide. Activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis is linked to tumor progression and metastasis. Plasma D-dimer, a fibrin degradation product, may serve as a biomarker of disease severity in breast cancer. The objectives of the study is to assess the association of plasma D-dimer levels with demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, Mymensingh Medical College, from September 2022 to October 2023. Eighty-six histopathologically confirmed breast cancer patients were enrolled. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Plasma D-dimer was measured and categorized as elevated or normal by laboratory reference values. Associations were analyzed using Chi-square and ANOVA tests; p<0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Mean age was 49.57±9.96 years; invasive ductal carcinoma predominated (95.3%). Elevated D-dimer was found in 55 (64.0%) patients. Mean D-dimer rose significantly from 0.57±1.08 µg/ml in T1 to 3.47±1.33 µg/ml in T4 tumors (p<0.001), and from 0.57±1.09 µg/ml in N0 to 3.54±1.35 µg/ml in N3 disease (p<0.001). Elevated D-dimer was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage (p=0.00002) and lymph node metastasis (p<0.001), but not with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.158) or histological subtype (p=0.407).

Conclusions: Plasma D-dimer was significantly associated with larger tumor size and greater nodal involvement, suggesting it may be a useful non-invasive biomarker of tumor progression. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate its prognostic value.

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