Role of von Willebrand factor levels in the prognosis of stage Ⅳ colorectal cancer: Do we have enough evidence?

摘要

Cancer patients usually present a prothrombotic condition. Several clotting-related proteins, such as von Willebrand factor (vWF), presenting higher plasma concentrations in these patients, may play a key role in this process. Moreover, some of those proteins are currently being characterized as response rate and overall survival markers in metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). In this comment article, we discuss the last piece of evidence that supports the use of vWF as a prognostic indicator in MCRC patients, provided by a paper recently published by Wang et al, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology. Summarizing, although vWF should be seriously considered as potential future prognostic and predictive indicator in colorectal cancer, more dynamic and better designed studies in longer series of patients should be conducted before standardizing its universal use among these patients.