Abstract: Background and purpose: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the second common cause of death in cancer patients. The clinical data from VTE patients in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were collected and analyzed during the last 5 years in this study to increase awareness for diagnosis and prevention of VTE in cancer patients and to improve their prognosis. Methods: The clinical data from 196 VTE patients among the 207 514 cancer patients were analyzed during the period from Jul. 2009 to Jun. 2014, and the clinical characteristics of cancer patients with VTE were investigated to understand the influence of risk factors and symptoms in VTE patients. Results: The incidence of VTE in cancer patients was 0.94‰. Adenocarcinoma was the most common type of gynecological cancer (56.5%), gastrointestinal tract cancer (91.7%), lung cancer (71.4) and pancreatic cancer (80%). Logistic regression analysis showed adenocarcinoma was the high risk factor in cancer patients with pulmonary embolism (PE, OR=0.36, 95%CI: 0.146-0.885, P=0.026). Compared with patients who received 2 cycles of chemotherapy, patients who received 3 cycles of chemotherapy had higher incidence of VTE (χ²=10.976, P=0.001). The incidence of VTE in operative group was higher than that in non-operative group. The patients bearing gynecological cancer with ascites (>2 000 mL) had higher VTE incidence compared with the patients with less ascites. Besides, 78%-88% of the VTE patients were diagnosed because of the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) symptom during postoperative recovery and chemoradiotherapy. However, 59.1% of the preoperative VTE patients were diagnosed by the compression venous ultrasonography (CUS) in lower extremity. Physical therapy was adopted to prevent thrombus in 15 postoperative patients. Conclusion: The incidence of cancer-associated VTE in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center is lower compared with those reported in other epidemiologic investigations. The VTE incidence in postoperative patients is higher than that in preoperative patients. The patients with adenocarcinoma were inclined to be accompanied by PE. The examination should be taken in asymptomatic cancer patients and gynecological cancer patients with massive ascites. The physical measurement should be adopted actively to prevent thrombus in our hospital.

Key words: Venous thromboembolism, Pulmonary embolism, Deep vein thrombosis, Tumor, Risk factors, Prevention