[Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in blood and tissue extracts of patients with non-small cell lung cancer].

Clinical and experimental studies provide evidence that the plasminogen activation system plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of tumor growth and metastatic spread. The aim of the present study was to evaluate plasminogen activator inhibitor type I (PAI-1) in plasma and tumor extracts in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study group consisted of 146 patients (18 females, 128 males), aged 33-76 years with squamous cell carcinoma (107), adenocarcinoma (19), and mixed type of lung carcinoma (20) in pTNM stage I (72), stage II (30) and stage III (44) and 50 healthy volunteers as a control group (15 females, 35 males) aged 25-69 years. Blood for analysis was collected in the morning, 1-2 days before operation. Lung cancer and normal lung tissue specimens were obtained during surgery and homogenized in liquid nitrogen. The tissue extracts and plasma were assayed for concentration of PAI-1 with ELISA method. Significantly higher plasma level of PAI-1 was observed in patients with lung cancer than in control group. Concentration of PAI-1 in tumor tissues was significantly higher compared to normal lung tissue and was irrelevant from plasma level. Positive correlation between tumor level of PAI-1 and stage of lung cancer was noticed. Therefore it can be assumed that PAI-1 has an influence on the lung cancer progression.