title: Clinical characteristics of pulmonary embolism with underlying malignancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hye-Ryoun
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Joon
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: Chul-Gyu
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Young Whan
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Young-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Seok-Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000792:Angiography; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001661:Biliary Tract Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011878:Radiotherapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents