Incidence and Risk Factors Related to Symptomatic Venous Thromboembolic Events After Esophagectomy for Cancer.

Major oncologic surgery is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolic events (VTE), including deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). However, the incidence and risk factors for symptomatic VTE during curative treatment for patients with esophageal cancer are poorly documented. Data were collected from 30 European centers from 2000 to 2010. The incidence of in-hospital VTE was assessed in 2,944 patients with esophageal cancer having surgery with curative intent, and 50 clinically relevant parameters were assessed as potential risk factors for VTE. Patients received low molecular weight heparin prophylaxis during hospital stay and for 4 weeks after surgery. Eighty-four patients (2.9%) developed a symptomatic VTE; all of them had a DVT and 44 were also diagnosed with a PE. In the VTE group there were 19 postoperative deaths recorded, 5 of which (26.3%) were directly caused by PE at postoperative days 7, 10, 21, 45, and 48 despite VTE prophylaxis. In-hospital postoperative mortality was significantly higher in VTE patients (23% versus 7%, p < 0.001) and mean hospital stay was also longer in this group (33 ± 24 versus 25 ± 21 days, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that high American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class (p = 0.008), pneumopathy (p = 0.002), or an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (p = 0.015) were significantly associated with VTE. Patients with ASA class III or IV and those who present a postoperative pneumopathy or ARDS seem to be at higher risk for VTE. Thus, current VTE screening and thromboprophylaxis for these patients might be inadequate and needs further investigation

Multicentre study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage I and II oesophageal cancer

International audienceBackground The benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) for early-stage oesophageal cancer is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess whether NCT improves the outcome of patients with stage I or II disease. Methods Data were collected from 30 European centres from 2000 to 2010. Patients who received NCT for stage I or II oesophageal cancer were compared with patients who underwent primary surgery with regard to postoperative morbidity, mortality, and overall and disease-free survival. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics. Results Of 1173 patients recruited (181 NCT, 992 primary surgery), 651 (55·5 per cent) had clinical stage I disease and 522 (44·5 per cent) had stage II disease. Comparisons of the NCT and primary surgery groups in the matched population (181 patients in each group) revealed in-hospital mortality rates of 4·4 and 5·5 per cent respectively (P = 0·660), R0 resection rates of 91·7 and 86·7 per cent (P = 0·338), 5-year overall survival rates of 47·7 and 38·6 per cent (hazard ratio (HR) 0·68, 95 per cent c.i. 0·49 to 0·93; P = 0·016), and 5-year disease-free survival rates of 44·9 and 36·1 per cent (HR 0·68, 0·50 to 0·93; P = 0·017). Conclusion NCT was associated with better overall and disease-free survival in patients with stage I or II oesophageal cancer, without increasing postoperative morbidit

Sleep apnea and incident unprovoked venous thromboembolism: Data from the French Pays de la Loire Sleep Cohort

International audienc