Arterial Thrombosis and Occult Cancer

The association between venous thromboembolism (VTE) and cancer is well established, but the association between arterial thromboembolism (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, systemic artery thromboembolism, mesenteric ischemia) and subsequent malignancy is unclear.

Now, investigators have conducted a retrospective, case-control study to determine the risk for arterial thromboembolic events during the year prior to cancer diagnosis using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry and Medicare claims data on 374,331 pairs of cancer patients and age- and comorbidity-matched controls without cancer (mean age, 76 years).

Results were as follows:

• The risk for arterial thromboembolic events increased progressively in cancer pati…