Venous thromboembolism and cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Hematology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Patients with cancer may have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), encompassing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).
• Existing literature presents varied findings, with some case reports and clinical series suggesting a link, while others remain inconclusive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing literature and determine if cancer patients exhibit an elevated risk of venous thromboembolism.
• To explore potential clinical and pathogenetic entities associated with VTE in cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of case reports, clinical series, retrospective postmortem studies, and prospective studies.
• Analysis of data to assess the association between malignancy and the occurrence of VTE.

Main Results:

• Case reports indicate various thromboembolic manifestations in a subset of cancer patients.
• Clinical series suggest an increased risk of postoperative VTE in cancer patients, though confounding factors like associated risks could not be excluded.
• Retrospective studies found more thrombi in malignancy patients, but a prospective study did not confirm an association with pulmonary embolism.

Conclusions:

• The association between cancer and venous thromboembolism requires further investigation.
• Different cancer types may present varying degrees of VTE risk.
• More research is needed to establish a firm clinical and pathoanatomical basis for understanding VTE pathogenesis in cancer.