The Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Outpatient Cancer Therapy in Iran

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the main causes ofmortality in patients with cancer. This study was conducted to assess theincidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in breast cancer patients receivingoutpatient cancer therapy.Materials,

This multi-center prospective cohort study wasconducted on patients with breast cancer,initiating an outpatientchemotherapy regimen in five medical centers in Iran. Eligible patients wereenrolled in the study consecutively between January 2013,January 2015.The primary outcome was lower extremity DVT based on duplex,dopplerultrasonography two months after the first course of chemotherapy (visit 2) andafter the end of the course (visit 3). All patients were followed-up from theonset of chemotherapy until the first occurrence of lower extremity DVT,death,or the end of the course.

A total of 427 eligible breast cancer patients were recruited in thestudy,403 of whom attended at least one follow-up visit. The mean (SD)duration of follow-up was 4 (1.3) months. During the follow-up,only onepatient showed DVT on duplex,doppler ultrasonography in visit 2. Therefore,the two-month,overall cumulative incidence risk of DVT was 0.25% (95%CI: 0.00–0.74%). However,the mean D-dimer level showed no significantchange (P>0.05).

Our findings showed the low risk of DVT in breast cancer patientsreceiving outpatient cancer therapy.