title: Clinical course of pulmonary embolism in lung cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although lung cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE), data regarding pulmonary embolism (PE) in lung cancer patients are limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinicoradiological features, clinical course and survival of lung cancer patients with PE.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective case-control study investigating the clinical course and survival of 40 lung cancer patients with PE (PE group). The control group (non-PE group) consisted of 80 lung cancer patients without VTE, treated during the same period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adenocarcinoma (45.0%, n = 18) was the most common histological type of lung cancer and when PE was diagnosed, the majority of the lung cancer patients were in stages IIIB (37.5%, n = 15) and IV (47.5%, n = 19). Thirty-four patients (85.0%) were diagnosed with PE within 12 months of the diagnosis of lung cancer. The median survival from the diagnosis of PE was 3.5 months in the PE group, but the survival rates revealed no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.249). In both groups, the most common cause of death was lung cancer progression (76.9 and 80.3%, respectively), followed by chemotherapy-related septic shock (19.2 and 16.7%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In lung cancer patients, PE may not be the main cause of death, but one of the various complications of lung cancer, despite suggesting a poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung-Ick
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Chi-Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Won-Il
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kyung-Nyeo
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Seung-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Chang-Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tae-Hoon
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies