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Frequency of malignancy is high in patients admitted for a first venous thromboembolism episode: an observational study

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Abstract

Patients with a cancer at time of first venous thromboembolism (VTE) have not been thoroughly analyzed. Our study aimed to (1) determine the frequency of cancer diagnosed in patients hospitalized for a first VTE episode, (2) investigate the characteristics of VTE and cancer in such patients. All consecutive adults patients hospitalized over a 6-years period for a first VTE episode in a tertiary care hospital were considered. Patients with congenital or acquired thrombophilia were excluded. Demographic, medical history, and follow up data were retrieved from medical records. 216 patients (63.6 ± 19.7 years, 63.4 % females) hospitalized for a first VTE were analyzed. Among them, 64 patients (29.6 %) had cancer, either revealed (n = 26) or already known (n = 38) at VTE diagnosis. Cancer was in an advanced stage in 26 patients (40.6 %). Patients with cancer were older and displayed a higher frequency of vena cava thrombosis, as compared to patients without cancer. VTE was more recurrent and mortality was higher in patients with cancer. Cancer occurred after VTE diagnosis in only 2 (2/127, 1.6 %) cases during a protracted follow-up of 24.1 ± 22.5 months. Overall, VTE preceded cancer diagnosis in only 3 % (2/66) of cases. Frequency of cancer is high among patients hospitalized for a first VTE. In such setting, VTE often involved unusual sites such as vena cava. In most cases, cancer was either already known or diagnosed at time of VTE, with a poor prognosis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Drs MP Chauveheid, C. Compain, D. Gobert, C. Gorgiard, R Jouenne, D Lariviere, O. Lidove, and E. Pasqualoni for their help with patients’ screening. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Bichat, Université Paris Diderot, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, 46 Rue Henri Huchard, 75018, Paris, France

    Diane Rouzaud, Jean-François Alexandra, Antoine Dossier, Tiphaine Goulenok, Thomas Papo & Karim Sacre

  2. Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Saint Antoine, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France

    Maria Chauchard

  3. Département d’Epidémiologie, Biostatistiques et Recherche Clinique, Hôpital Bichat, Université Paris Diderot, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France

    Myriam Delon & Anne Perozziello

  4. INSERM U1149, Paris, France

    Thomas Papo & Karim Sacre

  5. Département Hospitalo-Universitaire FIRE (Fibrosis, Inflammation and Remodelling in Renal and Respiratory Diseases), Paris, France

    Thomas Papo & Karim Sacre

Authors
  1. Diane Rouzaud
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  2. Jean-François Alexandra
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  3. Maria Chauchard
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  4. Myriam Delon
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  5. Antoine Dossier
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  6. Tiphaine Goulenok
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  7. Anne Perozziello
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  8. Thomas Papo
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  9. Karim Sacre
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Correspondence to Karim Sacre.

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Conflicts of interest

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Institutional Review Board of HUPNVS, Paris 7 University, AP-HP) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For retrospective studies, formal consent is not required.

Informed Consent

Because of the retrospective nature of the study, the review board waived the need for written informed consent from the patients. Patients were however informed that data collected in medical records might be used for research study in accordance to privacy rule.

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Rouzaud, D., Alexandra, JF., Chauchard, M. et al. Frequency of malignancy is high in patients admitted for a first venous thromboembolism episode: an observational study. J Thromb Thrombolysis 42, 329–335 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-016-1355-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-016-1355-2

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