Thromboembolic Events as Prognostic Clinical Markers in Advanced Pancreatic and Biliary Tract Cancer.
10.3904/kjm.2018.93.5.457
- Author:
Kabsoo SHIN
1
;
Myung Ah LEE
Author Information
1. Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Cancer Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. angelamd@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Pancreatic cancer;
Biliary tract cancer;
Venous thromboembolism;
Prognostic factor
- MeSH:
Biliary Tract Neoplasms*;
Biliary Tract*;
Biomarkers*;
Blood Cell Count;
Dalteparin;
Drug Therapy;
Female;
Hospices;
Humans;
Life Expectancy;
Male;
Pancreatic Neoplasms;
Pulmonary Embolism;
Retrospective Studies;
Risk Factors;
Terminal Care;
Thrombosis;
Venous Thromboembolism
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine
2018;93(5):457-463
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) are common events in patients with advanced cancer. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of VTEs in advanced pancreatic and biliary tract cancer to determine the clinical significance, especially in palliative settings. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients with advanced pancreatic cancer or biliary tract cancer who had thromboembolic events were retrospectively reviewed. We investigated the correlation between clinical course and thromboembolic events, and the laboratory risk factors, such as complete blood count profile. RESULTS: The 79 patients consisted of 40 men (50.6%) and 39 women (49.4%) with a median age of 65 years old (range: 41–80). Forty-three patients (54.4%), had thromboembolic events without any symptoms. Pulmonary thromboembolism occurred in only 31 cases (39.2%), and combined thrombosis at more than two sites occurred in 17 cases (21.5%). Of the 51 patients with active chemotherapy, 45 showed progressive disease. The median survival times were 11.9 weeks in all patients, 15.3 weeks in the treatment group, and 3.4 weeks in the palliative group. There was no difference in survival time between patients treated with dalteparin only and those treated with dalteparin combined with thrombolytic intervention. CONCLUSIONS: VTE can be poor prognostic indicator in pancreatic and biliary tract cacner patients, suggestive of progressive disease and a sign of short life expectancy, requiring hospice and terminal care.
