Deep vein thrombophlebitis and pulmonary embolism in patients with malignant gliomas

Patients with malignant gliomas are at increased risk for deep vein thrombophlebitis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Difficult anticoagulation in cancer patients undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy limit the choices of therapy for DVT. Interruption of the inferior vena cava with a Greenfield filter is a safe method of treating patients who have malignant gliomas and DVT with PE. We studied 23 patients treated for malignant gliomas; 16 were men and seven were women, with a mean age of 51 years (range, 26 to 78). Five patients had DVT shown by noninvasive blood flow studies, and four subsequently had PE, as demonstrated by ventilation perfusion lung scan; in one patient PE was diagnosed at autopsy. Of the 23 patients, four with postoperative craniotomy had DVT and all four had PE. Two of the five patients who received preoperative chemotherapy had DVT and three had PE. All patients with PE had a Greenfield filter placed in the inferior vena cava via the internal jugular vein without adverse sequelae.