Testing for cancer in people with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) may detect cancer earlier, but it is uncertain if this approach impacts morbidity and mortality in patients with a first episode of VTE, according to a Cochrane review of 4 studies involving more than 1,600 individuals.

In 2 studies that compared extensive cancer testing with testing at the physician's discretion:

• Extensive testing had no effect on the number of cancer-related deaths, nor did it identify more people with cancer.
• Extensive testing did identify cancers ~10 months earlier.
• Cancers were less advanced in people who underwent extensive testing.

In 2 studies that compared tests/scanning with tests alone:

• Adding computed tomography scanning had little or no effect on the number of deaths, cancer-related deaths, or VTE-related illness.
• Additionally, it did not identify more people with cancer, nor did it show a clear difference in time to diagnosis or stages of cancer diagnosed.