Long-term treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin prolonged the survival time for acute pulmonary embolism patients concurrent with malignancy: An observational analysis from a long-term follow-up study.
Thromb Res. 2014 Nov 26;
Authors: Zhang S, Zhai Z, Yang Y, Zhu J, Gong J, Xie W, Kuang T, Wang C
Abstract
BACKGROUND: As a special group in pulmonary embolism (PE), the baseline characteristics, better therapeutic strategy and prognosis of patients with concurrent malignancy need to be investigated. Long-term low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is recommended for these patients, however, whether therapeutic strategy affects long-term prognosis remains unclear.
METHODS: In this prospective study, acute symptomatic PE patients confirmed by imaging examinations, with/without malignancy, were enrolled and followed. Qanadli score was used to assess the embolic burden. The clinical endpoints included symptomatic recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), all-cause death and clinic relevant bleeding.
RESULTS: In the 627 patients enrolled, 92 patients had malignancy at baseline. The median follow-up period was 36months. The Qanadli score at baseline was lower in malignancy group than non-malignancy group (P=0.003). 48.9% of patients with malignancy died, while 11.4% of non-malignancy group died (P <0.001). Malignancy was a risk factor of death (HR 5.659, 95%CI 3.090-10.366, P <0.001). In malignancy group, 56 patients used long-term LMWH and 36 patients received oral vitamin K antagonist (VKA). The median survival time was 30months in LMWH group, significantly longer than 12.5months in VKA group (P=0.041). The mortality in the first 6months was lower in LMWH group than VKA group (19.6% vs. 41.7%, P=0.022).
CONCLUSIONS: PE patients with malignancy had much higher incidence of all-cause death in spite of less embolic burden compared with patients without malignancy. Anticoagulation using long-term LMWH could prolong the survival time of PE patients with malignancy, and it was more effective than VKA.
PMID: 25721935 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]