Venous thromboembolism risk in patients with lung cancer

Abstract

Background: The incidence of venous thromboembolism in lung cancer patients was investigated and the relationships between venous thromboembolism and histopathological types, stage, and treatment of the cancer, as well as accompanying chronic diseases were evaluated. Methods: This retrospective study was based on the evaluation of the files of 137 lung cancer patients (126 males, 11 females; mean age 58 +/- 28 years; range 24 to 78 years), who were diagnosed and treated in our clinic between January 2006 and May 2009. The diagnosis of venous thromboembolism was based on the clinical findings and the findings of the thorax computed tomography-angiography, ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, and Doppler ultrasound. The name of the thrombosed vein was recorded. Results: Venous thromboembolism was determined in 8.8% patients. Of 121 smokers, 9.1% had venous thromboembolism. Other diseases were present in 44.6% of patients. Some patients had more than one accompanying disease (chronic obstructive lung disease, arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure). The incidence rate of accompanying diseases in the patients with venous thromboembolism was 58.3%. Of the patients, 22.6% had small cell lung cancer, while 77.4% had non-small cell lung cancer. Venous thromboembolism was present in 6.4% of the patients with small cell lung cancer, and in 9.4% of the patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Histopathologically, adenocarcinoma was detected in 50% of the patients with venous thromboembolism. The cancer in 58.3% of the patients with venous thromboembolism was in its advanced stage, and the cancer in 58.3% of the patients developed venous thromboembolism during first step treatment. Metastasis was noted in 53.8% of patients. Conclusion: Although the differences were not statistically significant, the incidence rate of venous thromboemboli was higher in the group of patients with adenocarcinoma, advanced stage cancer, metastasis, and chronic comorbidity. It is also slightly higher in patients who were administered chemotherapy.