Thromboembolic complications in cancer patients.

Abstract

e21143 Background: Thromboembolic events are frequent and important complications causing mortality and morbidity in cancer patients.To determine the charecteristics of these events can help us to determine the patients who have higher risks for thromboembolism. Methods: Characteristics of clinically or radiologically determined thromboembolic events were retrospectively analayzed from files of cancer patients followed up in the outpatient oncology clinic of Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty of Istanbul University. Results: A total of 267 thromboembolic events were analyzed.Events were encountered mostly in the venous system, only 3% were in the form of arterial embolism.Venous events were in the form of deep vein thrombosis (67%), pulmonary embolism (16.5%), vena cava superior thrombosis (2.6%), superficial migratory thrombophlebitis (0.4%) or two different forms occuring concomitantly(10.5%). Thromboembolism was determined most frequently in patients with gastrointestinal tumors (41.9%), lung cancer (22.1%) and gynecological tumors (12.1%). The most frequent histopathology was adenocarcinoma (72.4%).Thromboembolic complications were mostly in the form of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis in patients with gastointestinal, gynecological and urogenital tumors where as in the form of pulmonary embolism and vena cava superior thrombosis in patients with lung cancer. Nearly half of the patients with pulmonary embolism (%48.%) were asymptomatic and were diagnosed incidentally with radiological imaging. Upper extremity thrombosis were frequently encountered in patients with venous port a-cath system Most of the patients (87.7%) had metastatic cancer and were receiving chemotherapy (65.5% ) when the event occured. Cisplatin, 5–FU and gemcitabine were the most frequently used chemotherapy agents.Thromboembolic events related to cancer surgery occured usually (59%) in the first month after surgery.Recurrent thromboembolic events were determined in 8.9% of patients mostly whom had gastrointestnal primary tumors (54%). Conclusions: Characteristics of thromboembolic events can help to determine the patients who have higher risk for thromboembolism and predict types and time of the event and provide anticoagulation without delay.