PO-01 Venous thromboembolism in patients with lung cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of death and morbidity in cancer patients. Improving knowledge about the epidemiology and behavior of VTE can contribute to its prevention and optimal management of this life-threatening complication. Aim: To describe clinical characteristics and outcome of cancer patients with VTE regarding if they whether had lung cancer (LC) or other cancers (OC). Patients and Methods: A prospective observational study of consecutive cancer patients and newly diagnosisof VTE was performed between May 2006 and April 2009. All patients were uniformly treated according to the 2004 American College of Chest Physicians guidelines and followed up. Data analysis was performed in July 2009. Results: A total of 339 patients were included. LC was the most frequent tumor in our series and occurred in 86 patients (25.4%) (66 males; median age 62±11 years). Histological subtypes of LC were: adenocarcinoma = 40 (46%), squamous cell carcinoma = 18 (21%), non-small cell carcinoma unspecified =15 (17%) and small-cell carcinoma = 9 (10%). Patients with LC had more frequently arterial hypertension (38% vs 25%, p = 0.01) and smoking habit (83% vs 41%, p < 0.0001) and presented more frequently with pulmonary embolism (51% vs 29%, p < 0.0001) than patients with OC. VTE was diagnosed earlier in patients with LC after the initial cancer diagnosis, with a median of 4 months (95% CI 2.79–5.2) compared to 7 months (95% CI 4.40–9.59) in patients with OC (p < 0.0001). The actual probability of rethrombosis was higher in LP, with a median of 6 months (95% CI 3.74–8.26) vs 17 months (95% CI 11.58–22.42) from the initial VTE event to venous rethrombosis (p < 0.0001) compared to patients with OC. Conclusions: VTE in patients with LC occurs earlier in the course of cancer and has a worse outcome regarding venous rethrombosis than observed in patients with OC.