Newly Diagnosed Cancer After Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism ― Insights From the COMMAND VTE Registry-2 ―

Abstract

Background: Previous randomized clinical trials did not support a benefit of screening for occult cancer after diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE), although screening may be of potential benefit for selected high-risk patients.

Methods and Results: The COMMAND VTE Registry-2 enrolled consecutive patients with acute symptomatic VTE between 2015 and 2020 from 31 centers across Japan. The 3, 706 patients in the registry without known active cancer at the time of VTE diagnosis were divided into 2 groups: those with (n=250) and without (n=3, 456) newly diagnosed cancer during the follow-up period. The cumulative incidence of newly diagnosed cancer was 1.5% at 30 days, 3.7% at 1 year, and 7.0% at 3 years. The multivariable Cox proportional hazard model demonstrated that older age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02 per 1 year increase; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.03; P<0.001), a history of cancer (HR 3.57; 95% CI 2.73–4.64; P<0.001), autoimmune disorders (HR 1.48; 95% CI 1.06–2.02; P=0.02), a history of major bleeding (HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.04–2.48; P=0.04), and the absence of transient provoking risk factors for VTE (HR 1.44; 95% CI 1.08–1.92; P=0.01) were independently associated with newly diagnosed cancer.

Conclusions: The incidence of newly diagnosed cancer after VTE diagnosis was 3.7% at 1 year, and several independent risk factors for newly diagnosed cancer after VTE diagnosis were identified.