Frequency of Accidental and Symptomatic Thrombo-embolic Events in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer

One of the complications that can cause significant death and disability in cancer patients is thromboembolic events. Since gastrointestinal cancers are among the most common cancers in the world and Iran, and there is little information about thromboembolic events associated with gastrointestinal cancers in Iran, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of asymptomatic and symptomatic thromboembolic events in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

In this cross-sectional study, the files of patients with gastrointestinal cancer in Shahid Beheshti Hospital and Imam Khomeini Clinic in Hamadan city, Iran, during 2017-2021 were examined.

In this study, 630 patients with gastrointestinal cancer were examined, and a total of 59 (9.4%) cases of thromboembolism were recorded. Most thromboses occurred in patients with stomach cancer (P>0.05). The relative frequencies of thrombosis in patients using and not using anticoagulants were 7.6% and 13.2%, respectively (P<0.05).

The occurrence of thrombosis in Iran is less than that in western societies and it is not related to the location of cancer, age, and gender. In the case of taking oral anticoagulants, the risk of thrombosis decreases. Most thromboembolic events occur during the first 6 months after cancer diagnosis and the first 3 months after the start of chemotherapy.