Outcome of Thromboembolic Events and Its Influence on Survival Time of Advanced NSCLC Patients Treated with Antiangiogenic Therapy

Background: Antiangiogenetic therapy and lung cancer, per se, are associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic events (TE). We aim to evaluate the pattern and outcome of TE as well as its influence on survival time of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving antiangiogenic therapy.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study, which included advanced NSCLC patients receiving antiangiogenic therapy. All TE were confirmed by objective image studies. We disclosed the presentation and risk factors of TE and evaluated its influence on outcome.

Results: A total of 427 patients were included. TE occurred in 43 patients (10.1%). Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was the most common TE (n = 20). Up to 46.2% of DVT did not occur in the typical lower extremities. Two patients died of TE. Among patients with continuous use or reuse of antiangiogenetic therapy, 18.2% had recurrent TE events. At the occurrence of TE, 28 patients experienced progressive disease (TE with PD), while tumor status remained stable in another 15 patients (TE without PD). The post-TE survival of patients without and with PD were 8.9 months (95% CI 3.9-13.9) vs 2.2 months (95% CI 0.1-4.3), P = 0.012. As compared with patients without TE (31.4 months [95% CI 27.1-35.7]), TE with PD patients experienced a significantly shorter overall survival (20.1 months [95% CI 15.5-24.6]), but TE without PD patients had comparable survival time (32.7 months [95% CI 7.4-28.1]) (P = 0006). The use of hormone analogue and proteinuria predicted the events among TE with PD group (aOR 2.79 [95% CI 1.13=6.92]; P = 0.027) and TE without PD group (aOR 4.30 [95% CI 1.13-16.42]; P = 0.033), respectively.

Conclusion: Owing to the different risk factors and influences on the survival time, TE with and without PD may be two different disease entities.