BACKGROUND/AIMS: The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which encompasses deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE), increases in patients with cancer. Anticancer treatment is also associated with an increased risk for VTE. We conducted this study to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with cancer and PE related to anticancer treatment in a tertiary care hospital in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of patients with an underlying malignancy who were diagnosed with PE by chest computed tomography (CT) with or without lower extremity CT angiography between January 2006 and December 2007 at Seoul National University Hospital. RESULTS: Overall, 95 patients with malignancies among 168 with PE were analyzed. The median age was 64 years. The median time interval from the malignancy diagnosis to the PE diagnosis was 5.5 months. Lung cancer was the most common malignancy (23.0%), followed by pancreatobiliary cancer, stomach cancer, gynecological cancer, breast cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Platinum-containing and pyrimidine analog-containing chemotherapeutic regimens were common. CONCLUSIONS: PE was diagnosed within 1 year after the cancer diagnosis in almost 70% of patients. Lung cancer was the most common underlying malignancy.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiography ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms/drug therapy/epidemiology/radiotherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy/epidemiology/radiotherapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Neoplasms/drug therapy/epidemiology/radiotherapy ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/drug therapy/epidemiology/radiotherapy ; Pulmonary Embolism/*epidemiology/radiography ; *Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy/epidemiology/radiotherapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Due to the advanced diagnostic technique and better understanding for multiple primary lung cancers (MPLC), the increasing incidence of MPLC has been reported. Very often, MPLC are misdiagnosed as metastasis because of lacking efficient molecular biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis. Studies on the molecular mechanism for tumorgenesis and progression of MPLC may therefore facilitate the discovery of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis, so that an individual and rational treatment can be achieved. We tried to further our understanding and improve the diagnostic skill for MPLC by reviewing the current status and the latest advancement of molecular markers related to MPLC.
Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; Chromosome Deletion ; DNA Damage ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; genetics ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; genetics ; Smoking ; adverse effects