Occurrence of myocardial infarction, Ischemic stroke and pulmonary embolism in lung cancer patients

Background: Patients with lung cancer (LC) are at increased risk of venous and arterial thrombosis due to cancer itself and its treatment. Although some studies have assessed the incidence of venous thrombosis among LC patients, data on the occurrence of specific venous and arterial thrombotic events is scarce. Objectives: To study the rate of myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke (IS) and pulmonary embolism (PE) before and after LC diagnosis compared with cancer-free controls. Methods: Patients with LC during 2000-2007 were selected from PALGA, the Dutch nationwide registry of histo-and cytopathology, and linked to the PHARMO RLS, including drug use and hospitalizations of approximately three million inhabitants in the Netherlands. Included LC patients were matched 1:10 by age and gender to cancer-free controls. The occurrence of MI, IS and PE were assessed in the 12 months before and after LC diagnosis. Results: This study included 3,717 LC patients, with a mean (±SD) age of 59 (±14) years and 69% males. LC patients were six times as likely as their cancer-free controls to have had a hospitalization for PE in the 12 months before diagnosis, though prevalence wa