Nathanael R. Fillmore
Publications / 2025
paper
Cancer Biomarkers2025doi:10.1177/18758592251390251

A panel of plasma proteins associated with venous thromboembolism in patients with prostate cancer.

Asha Jose†, Simon Lu†, Chao Zhang, Jennifer La, Melissa Young, J. Michael Gaziano, Nathanael R. Fillmore, Katya Ravid‡, Vipul C. Chitalia‡

† Equal first authorship · ‡ Equal senior authorship

Summary

A specific panel of plasma proteins related to blood clotting and cell adhesion can identify patients with prostate cancer who are at higher risk for developing venous thromboembolism. These findings provide a potential biomarker tool for better risk stratification and long-term monitoring to prevent life-threatening blood clots in this patient population.

Key result

A fifteen-protein panel achieved an area under the curve of 0.859 in predicting the development of venous thromboembolism among patients with prostate cancer.

Abstract

PurposeVenous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Prostate cancer is associated with an elevated risk of VTE, yet the molecular drivers remain poorly defined.MethodsIn this study, we employed high-throughput proteomic profiling using the SomaLogic platform to analyze plasma from 85 prostate cancer patients, including 43 with and 42 without VTE. Samples were collected at cancer diagnosis, with VTE diagnosed at a mean of 96.8 months later.ResultsPrincipal component analysis showed modest proteomic separation between groups. Differential expression analysis identified enriched pathways in VTE patients, including hemostasis (TIMP1, JAM2, TMX3, F3, and ESAM), cell adhesion (CXCL12, CCL11, CCN5, COL18A1, and ADGRB1) and cell proliferation (TIMP1, REG1B, REG1A, CRLF2, and ALDH1A2). Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis using top fifteen proteins achieved an area under the curve of 0.859, indicating strong predictive value for VTE in this cohort.ConclusionsWe identified a specific cluster of circulating proteins associated with development of VTE in patients with prostate cancer. This work deepens understanding of systemic mediators of cancer-associated VTE and, pending validation in other cohorts, paves the way for improved risk stratification and long-term monitoring in this population.

Key figure

Key figure from A panel of plasma proteins associated with venous thromboembolism in patients with prostate cancer.