[The significance of fibrin/fibrinogen for growth and metastasis of malignant tumors (author's transl)].

It seems evident that fibrinogen and fibrin representing the final substrate und product of clotting system act as pathogenetic connecting links for development and spread of malignant tumors. The results reported demonstrate the influence of fibrin on the initial phase of haematogenic metastasis particularly. Several tumor-specific mechanisms are shown to cause frequently an accumulation of fibrin in malignant tumors. The results discussed here stress the importance of fibrin in tumors for tumor cells and tumor cell units. In the literature a large number of indications to fibrin depositions in experimental tumors is found, an attempt is made to compare these findings semiquantitatively. The last part of this article discusses the therapeutic and diagnostic consequences based on the possible key position of fibrin-(ogen) in the tumor pathology.