Long-term treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin prolonged the survival time for acute pulmonary embolism patients concurrent with malignancy: An observational analysis from a long-term follow-up study☆

Abstract Background As a special group in pulmonary embolism (PE), the baseline characteristics, better therapeutic strategy and prognosis of patients with concurrent malignancy need to be investigated. Long-term low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is recommended for these patients, however, whether therapeutic strategy affects long-term prognosis remains unclear. Methods In this prospective study, acute symptomatic PE patients confirmed by imaging examinations, with/without malignancy, were enrolled and followed. Qanadli score was used to assess the embolic burden. The clinical endpoints included symptomatic recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), all-cause death and clinic relevant bleeding. Results In the 627 patients enrolled, 92 patients had malignancy at baseline. The median follow-up period was 36 months. The Qanadli score at baseline was lower in malignancy group than non-malignancy group (P = 0.003). 48.9% of patients with malignancy died, while 11.4% of non-malignancy group died (P Conclusions PE patients with malignancy had much higher incidence of all-cause death in spite of less embolic burden compared with patients without malignancy. Anticoagulation using long-term LMWH could prolong the survival time of PE patients with malignancy, and it was more effective than VKA.