title: Increased risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with brain tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Currently published studies investigating the association between brain tumors and venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk have yielded inconsistent findings. To provide a more precise estimate for this association, we firstly performed a meta-analysis by pooling all currently available data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by use of STATA 12.0 software. All eligible studies were identified by a comprehensive literature search in databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google scholar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the inclusion criteria, 9 independent studies were finally included into this study. Individuals with brain tumors were at an increased risk of VTE (RR=1.66, 95% CI 1.31-2.12, P<0.001), particularly those undergoing surgery (RR=1.68, 95% CI 1.44-1.98, P<0.001). Stratified analysis by type of tumor showed that the risk of VTE was significantly associated with glioma (RR=1.68, 95% CI 1.44-1.98, P<0.001), high-grade glioma (RR=1.70, 95% CI 1.29-2.23, P<0.001), and glioblastoma multiforme (RR=1.74, 95% CI 1.43-2.12, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present meta-analysis suggests increased risk of VTE in patients with brain tumors, particularly those undergoing surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: qianchunfa@sina.cn.
authors.forename: Chunfa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: liuhy1021@sina.cn.
authors.forename: Hongyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Brain tumor; Meta-analysis; Venous thromboembolism