Prognostic value of pretreatment plasma D-dimer level in dogs with intermediate to high-gradenon-Hodgkinlymphoma

Pretreatment D-dimer levels have been reported to predict survival in several types of malignancies in human patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment D-dimer level in dogs with intermediate to high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study of F14512 vs etoposide phosphate, we assessed the prognostic value of pretreatment plasma D-dimer level in 48 client-owned dogs diagnosed with intermediate to high-grade NHL. The correlation between pretreatment plasma D-dimer level and various clinical features, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was analysed. The median value of pretreatment plasma D-dimer level was 0.4 mu g/mL (range: 0.1-14.3 mu g/mL). High pretreatment plasma D-dimer level (>0.5 mu g/mL) was detected in 44% (21/48) of dogs. High D-dimer levels were not correlated with naive vs relapsed lymphoma, clinical stage, substage, immunophenotype or treatment group. D-dimer levels >0.5 mu g/mL were significantly associated with inferior median PFS (54 vs 104 days,P= .011) and OS (93 vs 169 days,P= .003). In the multivariate analysis, high D-dimer levels remained an independent predictor for worse PFS (HR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.57-6.56,P= .001) and OS (HR: 3.87, 95% CI: 1.88-7.98;P < .001). This study suggests that pretreatment plasma D-dimer level can serve as a predictor of prognosis in dogs with intermediate to high-grade NHL. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.