Nils Skajaa

TY - JOUR

T1 - Venous Thromboembolism and Risk of Cancer in Patients with Diverticular Disease

T2 - A Danish Population-Based Cohort Study

AU - Thomsen, Louise

AU - Troelsen, Frederikke Schønfeldt

AU - Nagy, Dávid

AU - Skajaa, Nils

AU - Kormendine Farkas, Dora

AU - Erichsen, Rune

N1 - © 2021 Thomsen et al.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - Purpose: Venous thromboembolism may be a harbinger of cancer. Patients with diverticular disease are suggested to have an increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism compared with the general population, but it remains unclear whether venous thromboembolism is also a marker of occult cancer in these patients. We investigated the risk of cancer after venous thromboembolism among patients with diverticular disease.Patients and Methods: We used Danish health registries to conduct a nationwide, population-based cohort study during 1996– 2017. We identified all venous thromboembolism patients with a diagnosis of diverticular disease and calculated absolute risks of cancer and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) by comparing observed and expected cancer incidence based on national cancer incidence in the Danish population.Results: We followed 3406 patients with venous thromboembolism and diverticular disease for a median of 3.0 years (interquartile range: 1.0– 6.0). During the first year of follow-up, we observed 212 cancer cases. The corresponding one-year risk of cancer was 6.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.5– 7.1) with a SIR of 2.9 (95% CI: 2.5– 3.3). The SIRs were particularly elevated for cancers of the stomach, pancreas, ovary, and kidney. During the second and subsequent years of follow-up, 337 cancers were diagnosed with a SIR of 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0– 1.3).Conclusion: Venous thromboembolism is a harbinger of occult cancer in patients with diverticular disease.

AB - Purpose: Venous thromboembolism may be a harbinger of cancer. Patients with diverticular disease are suggested to have an increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism compared with the general population, but it remains unclear whether venous thromboembolism is also a marker of occult cancer in these patients. We investigated the risk of cancer after venous thromboembolism among patients with diverticular disease.Patients and Methods: We used Danish health registries to conduct a nationwide, population-based cohort study during 1996– 2017. We identified all venous thromboembolism patients with a diagnosis of diverticular disease and calculated absolute risks of cancer and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) by comparing observed and expected cancer incidence based on national cancer incidence in the Danish population.Results: We followed 3406 patients with venous thromboembolism and diverticular disease for a median of 3.0 years (interquartile range: 1.0– 6.0). During the first year of follow-up, we observed 212 cancer cases. The corresponding one-year risk of cancer was 6.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.5– 7.1) with a SIR of 2.9 (95% CI: 2.5– 3.3). The SIRs were particularly elevated for cancers of the stomach, pancreas, ovary, and kidney. During the second and subsequent years of follow-up, 337 cancers were diagnosed with a SIR of 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0– 1.3).Conclusion: Venous thromboembolism is a harbinger of occult cancer in patients with diverticular disease.

KW - Cancer

KW - Deep venous thrombosis

KW - Diverticulitis

KW - Epidemiology

KW - Perforated diverticulitis

KW - Pulmonary embolism

U2 - 10.2147/CLEP.S314350

DO - 10.2147/CLEP.S314350

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34447274

VL - 13

SP - 735

EP - 744

JO - Clinical epidemiology

JF - Clinical epidemiology

SN - 1179-1349

ER -