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Review
. 2015 Sep 15;10(1):28.
doi: 10.1186/s40248-015-0021-4. eCollection 2015.

Venous thromboembolism and lung cancer: a review

Carolina Vitale  1 , Maria D'Amato  1 , Paolo Calabrò  2 , Anna Agnese Stanziola  1 , Mauro Mormile  1 , Antonio Molino  1
Affiliations
Review

Venous thromboembolism and lung cancer: a review

Carolina Vitale et al. Multidiscip Respir Med. .

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of malignancies and epidemiological studies suggest that lung cancer belonged to the group of malignancies with the highest incidence rates of VTE. Risk factors for VTE in lung cancer patients are adenocarcinoma, NSCLC in comparison with SCLC, advanced disease, pneumonectomy, chemotherapy including antiangiogenic therapy. Other risk factors are pretreatment platelet counts and increased release of TF-positive microparticles. Elevated D-dimer levels do not necessarily indicate an increased risk of VTE but have been shown to be predictive for a worse clinical outcome in lung cancer patients. Mechanisms responsible for the increase in venous thrombosis in patients with lung cancer are not understood. Currently no biomarker is recognized as a predictor for VTE in lung cancer patients. Although several clinical trials have reported the efficacy of antithrombotic prophylaxis in patients with lung cancer who are receiving chemotherapy, further trials are needed to assess the clinical benefit since these patients are at an increased risk of developing a thromboembolism.

Keywords: Lung cancer; Non small-cell lung cancer; Small-cell lung cancer; Thromboprophylaxis; Venous thromboembolism.

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