Venous thromboembolism may occur later in the disease process of multiple myeloma than has historically been reported, based on data reported by Brea Lipe, MD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, and her colleagues.
The risk for VTE appears to change over time. Patients with multiple myeloma should be assessed for VTE risk and thromboprophylaxis on an ongoing basis throughout the disease course, the researchers recommended at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
In a study originally designed to examine the adoption and utility of the International Myeloma Working Group thromboprophylaxis guidelines, the researchers used the Healthcare Enterprise Repository for Ontological Narration (HERON) database to identify case patients with multiple myeloma and a venous thromboembolism. Patients who had multiple myeloma and had not experienced a VTE were matched to the cases based on gender, age, and time of diagnosis. Patient charts were manually extracted to identify treatment history, disease history, risk factors for VTE, and guideline adherence regarding use of prophylactic anticoagulation for the matched patients at the time of diagnosis and at the time of the VTE.
There were 86 cases and 211 controls in the final cohort. The median time from diagnosis to VTE was 952 days. In accordance with the guidelines, patients with a higher risk of VTE were more likely to be on low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or warfarin versus patients with a lower risk of VTE on aspirin or no prophylaxis (P less than .001). Risk category or prophylactic medication were not associated with the rate of VTE when considering baseline risk factors. Over time, however, the risk category of case patients changed to a higher risk group and this was associated with a higher risk of VTE (P = .06).
“While we were unable to validate the IMWG recommendations for thromboprophylaxis at diagnosis, our data suggest that VTE in multiple myeloma may occur later in the disease process than has historically been reported,” the researchers concluded.
Dr. Lipe has been an adviser to Takeda.
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