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TOPLINE:

Patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) had a threefold higher risk for cancer than individuals in the general population, according to a new study. Men older than 50 years had the highest absolute risk, whereas younger patients had the highest relative risk.

METHODOLOGY:

• A population-based cohort study analysed data from the Dutch Hospital Discharge Registry of 2649 patients (70.1% women) with first-ever CVT between 1997 and 2020.
• Researchers excluded patients with a history of cancer or a cancer diagnosis during CVT hospitalisation and followed participants for a median of 4.7 years.
• The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of any new cancer within 10 years after CVT.
• The relative incidence was determined using data from a matched reference cohort in the general population.

TAKEAWAY:

• Cancer was diagnosed in 119 patients during follow-up. The most common cancers were blood cancers (24.4%) and digestive tract cancers (20.2%). Cancers excluding those of the blood, digestive tract, breast, lung, and central nervous system accounted for 21.0%.
• The cumulative cancer incidence was 5.9% (95% CI, 4.8%-7.2%) after 10 years, with the highest rates in men aged ≥ 50 years at 13.5% (95% CI, 9.1%-18.7%).
• Compared with individuals in the reference cohort, patients with CVT had an increased risk for cancer at 1 year (standardised incidence ratio [SIR], 3.35; 95% CI, 2.41-4.55) and at 10 years (SIR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.14-1.69).
• Younger patients (< 50 years) showed the highest relative risk at 1 year (SIR, 6.70; 95% CI, 3.97-10.59) and 10 years (SIR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.24-2.34).

IN PRACTICE:

"Physicians should be vigilant for signs of cancer during follow-up of patients with CVT. These results support the need for further research on screening for occult cancer after CVT," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Anita van de Munckhof, MD, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was published online on February 10 in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was limited by missing data on the risk factors for CVT and cancer, potential misclassification, the retrospective design, unmeasured confounding, and a limited analysis of cancer subtypes.

DISCLOSURES:

Funding information was not provided in the study. Two authors reported receiving grants, holding shares, or having employment ties with various sources outside the submitted work. Details are provided in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.