Monocyte tissue factor in treated hodgkin's disease

Thrombosis is a recognized complication of Hodgkin's disease. The mechanism for thrombosis in this setting is not known. We determined the functional expression of tissue factor on peripheral blood monocytes in 14 consecutive patients with relapsed Hodgkin's disease. Marked elevations in activity were present in slightly more than half of the subjects. Tissue factor activities varied over 75-fold. Patients with higher tissue factor levels tended to be males who had not undergone splenectomy as part of their staging evaluation. Definite thrombotic complications occurred in three of the patients with the highest levels of tissue factor. While monocyte tissue factor may play a contributory role in the development of thrombotic complications in some patients with relapsed Hodgkin's disease, marked elevation of tissue factor is characteristic of only a subpopulation of these patients. This suggests that patient-, therapy- or disease-specific variables, including tissue factor, may determine the development of thrombosis in these patients.