Prognostic significance of preoperative plasma D-dimer level in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Plasma D-dimer level, a marker of hypercoagulation, has been reported to be associated with survival in several types of cancers. The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative D-dimer levels in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Participants comprised 237 patients with surgically resected clinical stage I NSCLC. In addition to factors such as age, sex, and smoking status, the association between preoperative D-dimer level and survival was explored. RESULTS: Patients were divided into two groups according to D-dimer level: Group A, ≤ 1.0 μg/ml (n = 170); and Group B, > 1.0 μg/ml (n = 67). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 81.6% for Group A and 66.6% for Group B (p < 0.001). The 5-year overall survival rate was 93.6% for Group A and 84.7% for Group B (p = 0.002). Multivariate survival analysis identified D-dimer level as an independent prognostic factor, along with age, maximum standardized uptake value of the primary tumor, and pathological stage. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative D-dimer level is an independent prognostic factor in patients with surgically resected clinical stage I NSCLC.