Abstract

Venous thromboembolism is a common feature of pancreatic cancer. The underlying mechanism is unclear, but is likely to involve thrombin generation on the cell surface. Human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines (n=8) have been studied immmunohistochemically for the expression of tissue factor, factor Xa receptor, and thrombin receptor. Each antigen had a distinct pattern of immunoreactivity in cell membrane and cytoplasm. Tissue factor was predominantly localised to the membrane, whereas thrombin and factor Xa receptor were largely cytoplasmic in distribution. The results support the hypothesis of a coagulation cascade that starts with tissue factor, leads to thrombin generation, and might confer a biological advantage on tumour cells.