Thromboembolic Complications in Patients with Digestive Malignancies

Introduction. Venous thromboembolism is the second leading cause of mortality in cancer patients. Patients with malignant conditions have a ninefold increased risk of thrombotic complications, and approximately 20% of patients with venous thromboembolism also associate cancer. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and predictive factors for thromboembolic complications in patients with digestive cancers. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective study over six years, including 200 patients hospitalized in the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania, with digestive malignancies and thromboembolic complications. Results: The prevalence of venous thromboembolism among patients with malignant digestive tumors was 9.2%. The average age of these patients was 66 years. The malignancies with the highest incidence of thrombotic complications were pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and gastric cancer. Histologically, all cancers were identified as adenocarcinoma, with 70% of patients exhibiting poorly differentiated tumors, and advanced tumor stages were observed in all cases. The most prevalent thrombotic complication was portal vein thrombosis, followed by deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism. The in-hospital mortality rate of these patients was 23.5%, while the 5-year mortality rate was 82.5%. Conclusions: We propose, as a future research direction, the enhancement of approaches to evaluate the risk of venous thromboembolism and discovery of novel biomarkers with a predictive role in patients with malignant tumors.