The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Korean Patients with Breast Cancer: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

The relationship between cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE) has long been described. The risk of VTE in Asian patients with breast cancer remains largely unknown. This study described the incidence and risk factors of VTE in Korean patients with breast cancer. Data were collected from a retrospective database of patients who underwent breast cancer surgery between 2011 and 2020 at a single institution. The Cox proportional-hazards model was used to identify factors associated with VTE occurrences. Among the 2246 patients with breast cancer, 48 (2.1%) developed VTE during a median follow-up period of 53 months. The average incidence of VTE was 459 per 100,000 person-years. Age ≥ 60 years, male sex, chronic kidney disease, reconstructive procedures, and stage II or higher were independent predictive factors for VTE. VTE was associated with poor disease-free survival (hazard ratio (HR), 6.140; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.480–10.835), and overall survival (HR, 8.842; 95% CI 4.386–17.824). Most VTE events were manageable with anticoagulation; three (6.3%) patients died of VTE, despite intensive care. The incidence of VTE was significantly elevated in Korean patients with breast cancer. Since VTE has a negative effect on oncologic outcomes of breast cancer, clinicians should manage its risk throughout their lifetime.

Preoperative Systemic Immune-Inflammatory Index as a Predictive Biomarker for Lower Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis after Breast Cancer Surgery: Stratified Nursing Intervention to Reduce Incidence

“…Hospitalization, surgery, and adjuvant therapy (eg, chemotherapy) can further increase morbidity risk [ 22 ]. With the aging of the population and the increasing incidence rates of cancer, the incidence of DVT after tumor surgery is increasing, which seriously threatens the prognosis and rehabilitation process of patients and brings great challenges for clinical care [ 23 ]. The results of a survey on the awareness of DVT awareness among medical personnel in China are not satisfactory, especially when considering the low proportion of risk assessments conducted of DVT for patients in surgical surgery department [ 24 ].…”

Renal insufficiency in breast cancer patients; a review study

“…Renal insufficiency increases the incidence rate of potentially fatal complications such as venous thromboembolism (VTE) in breast cancer patients. Clinicians should consider this increased risk, particularly before endocrine therapy begins (97,98).…”