The Hemostasis Apparatus in Pancreatic Cancer and Its Importance beyond Thrombosis.
Cancers (Basel) 2011;
3:267-84. [PMID:
24212618 PMCID:
PMC3756361 DOI:
10.3390/cancers3010267]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2010] [Revised: 12/05/2010] [Accepted: 01/10/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Laboratory evidence of aberrant coagulation is found in the majority of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and a clinical consequence of this is the high incidence and prevalence of vascular thromboembolic events. Other sequelae are hypothesized to be the facilitation and acceleration of mechanisms that define the malignant phenotype, such as invasion, trafficking and anchoring, establishing the metastatic niche and inducing angiogenesis. We review the in vitro and preclinical evidence that supports the role of the coagulation apparatus in the metastatic process of pancreatic cancer, with a particular emphasis on interaction of this pathway with clinically-targeted growth factor receptor pathways. Links between hemostasis, angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor pathways and their significance as therapeutic targets are considered.
Collapse