New insights into blood clot mechanisms in cancer patients discovered

A potential new signalling pathway that may help further the understanding of blood clot formation in cancer patients and help prevent this complication from occurring has been identified by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), US. The researchers examined the levels of different molecules and break down products (known as metabolites) in the blood as well as within blood clots from experimental tumour models. They discovered increased blood levels of two molecules called kynurenine and indoxyl sulfate, both of which are metabolites of the amino acid, tryptophan, often a dietary component. These high levels of kynurenine and indoxyl sulfate were also associated with increased blood clot size in an experimental model. The study shows that blood clot size could be reduced by pharmacologically inhibiting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway, a known target of indoxyl sulfate and kynurenine, suggesting that this may be a target for future drug development.