The risk of a second cancer after hospitalisation for venous thromboembolism.
Although venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common in patients with cancer, it is not known if it is associated with risk of a second malignancy. Using the Danish Cancer Registry and National Registry of Patients, we studied a population-based cohort of 6285 patients with cancer who had an episode of VTE. The risk of a second cancer was compared with that among 30 713 cancer patients without VTE, matched for age, sex, cancer site and year of diagnosis. Overall, the relative risk for a second cancer diagnosis was 1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.4). However, the excess risk varied with the time from the initial cancer diagnosis to the thrombotic event. If the thrombotic episode occurred within the first year, the relative risk for a second cancer was 1.0 (95% CI 0.9-1.3), but if the VTE occurred more than 1 year after the initial cancer, the overall relative risk for a second cancer was 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.7), with strong associations for cancers of the digestive organs, ovary and prostate. The association between VTE and subsequent incident cancer extends to patients who already have had a cancer diagnosis.
Sørensen
H T
HT
The Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. hts@dce.au.dk
Pedersen
L
L
Mellemkjaer
L
L
Johnsen
S P
SP
Skriver
M V
MV
Olsen
J H
JH
Baron
J A
JA
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000150:complications*