Altered coagulation profile of patients with high-grade glioma: clinical study with control group.

Abstract

Background Activation of coagulation is a common phenomenon in patients with high-grade glioma, a primary malignant brain tumor. Objective Identify if there is an alteration in the coagulation profile in patients with high-grade glioma compared to other patients with benign brain tumors. Methods Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, ECOG at admission, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, platelet count, and blood panel results of 21 high-grade glioma patients (cases) and 42 meningioma patients (controls) from northern Peru were reviewed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis with logistic regression were performed to determine which factors are associated with glioma. Results Both groups had high proportions of high blood pressure (29%) and diabetes mellitus (14%). According to multivariate analysis, altered values for prothrombin time, platelet count, and ECOG score were associated with glioma (p=0.01). Furthermore, alterations in the blood panel were observed in both cases and controls but failed to reach statistical significance. Conclusion Patients with high-grade glioma seem to suffer more from hypercoagulable states than other patients with benign brain tumors, suggesting careful vigilance and anticoagulant treatment for these patients.