Prognosis in patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism: Comparison of the RIETE-VTE and modified Ottawa score

Inhibitory effects of resveratrol on platelet activation and thrombosis in colon cancer through regulation of the MAPK and cGMP/VASP pathways

Thrombosis is the primary cause of death in patients with cancer. Resveratrol inhibits platelet activation, a crucial pathophysiological basis of thrombosis, in healthy individuals. However, its effects and mechanisms of action in patients with colon cancer remain unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of resveratrol on platelet adhesion and aggregation in patients with colon cancer. Through numerous in vitro and in vivo analyses, including flow cytometry, western blotting, ELISA, and immunofluorescence and colon cancer rat models, we demonstrated that resveratrol reduced thrombosis in patients with colon cancer by inhibiting the phosphorylation of the MAPK and activating the cyclic-GMP/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein pathway. These findings demonstrate the potential of resveratrol in reducing thrombosis in patients with colon cancer and could be used to develop novel therapeutic strategies for this condition.

[Translation into French and republication of: "Management of cancer-associated thromboembolism in vulnerable population"]

Although all patients with cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) have a high morbidity and mortality risk, certain groups of patients are particularly vulnerable. This may expose the patient to an increased risk of thrombotic recurrence or bleeding (or both), as the benefit-risk ratio of anticoagulant treatment may be modified. Treatment thus needs to be chosen with care. Such vulnerable groups include older patients, patients with renal impairment or thrombocytopenia, and underweight and obese patients. However, these patient groups are poorly represented in clinical trials, limiting the available data on which treatment decisions can be based. Meta-analysis of data from randomised clinical trials suggests that the relative treatment effect of direct oral factor Xa inhibitors (DXIs) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) with respect to major bleeding could be affected by advanced age. No evidence was obtained for a change in the relative risk-benefit profile of DXIs compared to LMWH in patients with renal impairment or of low body weight. The available, albeit limited, data do not support restricting the use of DXIs in patients with TAC on the basis of renal impairment or low body weight. In older patients, age is not itself a critical factor for choice of treatment, but frailty is such a factor. Patients over 70 years of age with CAT should undergo a systematic frailty evaluation before choosing treatment and modifiable bleeding risk factors should be addressed. In patients with renal impairment, creatine clearance should be assessed and monitored regularly thereafter. In patients with an eGFR less than 30mL/min/1.72m2, the anticoagulant treatment may need to be adapted. Similarly, platelet count should be assessed prior to treatment and monitored regularly. In patients with grade 3-4, thrombocytopenia (less than 50,000platelets/μL) treatment with a LMWH at a reduced dose should be considered. For patients with CAT and low body weight, standard anticoagulant treatment recommendations are appropriate, whereas in obese patients, apixaban may be preferred.

[Translation into French and republication of: "Home treatment for patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism"]

Patients hospitalised with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), and notably patients with pulmonary embolism, often remain in hospital for extended periods due to the perceived risk of complications. However, several studies have shown that home treatment of selected patients is feasible and safe, with a low incidence of adverse events. This may offer clear benefits for patients' quality of life, hospital planning and cost to the health service. Nonetheless, there is a need for a VTE risk-stratification tool specifically addressing prognosis in patients with cancer. This may aid in the selection of low-risk patients with cancer and VTE who are suitable for outpatient treatment. Although several prognostic scores have been proposed, we suggest using a pragmatic clinical decision-making tool such as the Hestia criteria for selecting patients for home care in everyday clinical practice. Once patients have been discharged, it is mandatory to monitor patients regularly (we suggest after 3 days, 10 days, 1 month and 3 months, or more frequently if needed) with the involvement of a multidisciplinary team, so that appropriate and timely remedial action can be taken in case of warning signs of complications. If patients are selected carefully and monitored effectively, many patients who experience acute VTE can be cared for safely at home.

Management of cancer-associated thromboembolism in vulnerable population

Although all patients with cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) have a high morbidity and mortality risk, certain groups of patients are particularly vulnerable. This may expose the patient to an increased risk of thrombotic recurrence or bleeding (or both), as the benefit-risk ratio of anticoagulant treatment may be modified. Treatment thus needs to be chosen with care. Such vulnerable groups include older patients, patients with renal impairment or thrombocytopenia, and underweight and obese patients. However, these patient groups are poorly represented in clinical trials, limiting the available data, on which treatment decisions can be based. Meta-analysis of data from randomised clinical trials suggests that the relative treatment effect of direct oral factor Xa inhibitors (DXIs) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) with respect to major bleeding could be affected by advanced age. No evidence was obtained for a change in the relative risk-benefit profile of DXIs compared to LMWH in patients with renal impairment or of low body weight. The available, albeit limited, data do not support restricting the use of DXIs in patients with CAT on the basis of renal impairment or low body weight. In older patients, age is not itself a critical factor for choice of treatment, but frailty is such a factor. Patients over 70 years of age with CAT should undergo a systematic frailty evaluation before choosing treatment and modifiable bleeding risk factors should be addressed. In patients with renal impairment, creatine clearance should be assessed and monitored regularly thereafter. In patients with an eGFR<30mL/min/1.72m2, the anticoagulant treatment may need to be adapted. Similarly, platelet count should be assessed prior to treatment and monitored regularly. In patients with grade 3-4, thrombocytopenia (<50,000 platelets/μL) treatment with a LMWH at a reduced dose should be considered. For patients with CAT and low body weight, standard anticoagulant treatment recommendations are appropriate, whereas in obese patients, apixaban may be preferred.

Home treatment for patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism

Patients hospitalised with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), and notably patients with pulmonary embolism, often remain in hospital for extended periods due to the perceived risk of complications. However, several studies have shown that home treatment of selected patients is feasible and safe, with a low incidence of adverse events. This may offer clear benefits for patients' quality of life, hospital planning and cost to the health service. Nonetheless, there is a need for a VTE risk-stratification tool specifically addressing prognosis in patients with cancer. This may aid in the selection of low-risk patients with cancer and VTE who are suitable for outpatient treatment. Although several prognostic scores have been proposed, we suggest using a pragmatic clinical decision-making tool such as the Hestia criteria for selecting patients for home care in everyday clinical practice. Once patients have been discharged, it is mandatory to monitor patients regularly (we suggest after 3 days, 10 days, 1 month and 3 months, or more frequently if needed) with the involvement of a multidisciplinary team, so that appropriate and timely remedial action can be taken in case of warning signs of complications. If patients are selected carefully and monitored effectively, many patients who experience acute VTE can be cared for safely at home.

Development of a predictive model of venous thromboembolism recurrence in anticoagulated cancer patients using machine learning

INTRODUCTION

Patients with cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE) show a high risk of VTE recurrence during anticoagulant treatment. This study aimed to develop a predictive model to assess the risk of VTE recurrence within 6 months at the moment of primary VTE diagnosis in these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using the EHRead® technology, based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), the unstructured data in electronic health records from 9 Spanish hospitals between 2014 and 2018 were extracted. Both clinically- and ML-driven feature selection were performed to identify predictors for VTE recurrence. Logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF) algorithms were used to train different prediction models, which were subsequently validated in a hold-out data set.

RESULTS

A total of 16,407 anticoagulated cancer patients with diagnosis of VTE were identified (54.4 % male and median age 70). Deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and metastases were observed in 67.2 %, 26.6 %, and 47.7 % of the patients, respectively. During the study follow-up, 11.4 % of the patients developed a recurrent VTE, being more frequent in patients with lung cancer. Feature selection and model training based on ML identified primary pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, metastasis, adenocarcinoma, hemoglobin and serum creatinine levels, platelet and leukocyte count, family history of VTE, and patients' age as predictors of VTE recurrence within 6 months of VTE diagnosis. The LR model had an AUC-ROC (95 % CI) of 0.66 (0.61, 0.70), the DT of 0.69 (0.65, 0.72) and the RF of 0.68 (0.63, 0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first ML-based predictive model designed to predict 6-months VTE recurrence in patients with cancer. These results hold great potential to assist clinicians to identify the high-risk patients and improve their clinical management.

Risk factors for recurrence and major bleeding in patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism

Risks of recurrence and treatment-emergent bleeding are high in patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) but factors associated with these risks remain substantially undefined. The aim of this analysis in patients with cancer-associated VTE included in the Caravaggio study was to identify risk factors for recurrent VTE and major bleeding. Variables potentially predictive for recurrent VTE or major bleeding were evaluated in a Cox proportional hazard multivariable analysis with backward variable selection. Recurrent VTE occurred in 78 patients (6.8%) and major bleeding in 45 (3.9%). Independent risk factors for recurrent VTE were deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as index event (Hazard ratio (HR) 1.84, 95% CI 1.17-2.88), ECOG status of 1 or more (HR 1.95, 95% CI 1.11-3.43), pancreatic or hepatobiliary cancer site (HR 2.20, 95% CI 1.19-4.06), concomitant anti-cancer treatment (HR 1.98, 95% CI 1.03-3.81) and creatinine clearance (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.00-1.20 for every 10 ml/min absolute increase). Independent risk factors for major bleeding were ECOG status of 2 (HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.24-4.29), genitourinary cancer site (HR 2.72, 95% CI 1.28-5.77), upper gastrointestinal cancer site (HR 3.17, 95% CI 1.22-8.23), and non-resected luminal gastrointestinal cancer (HR 2.77, 95% CI 1.38-5.56). This analysis of the Caravaggio study in patients with cancer-associated VTE who were on standardized anticoagulant treatment identified five independent predictors for recurrent VTE and four independent predictors of treatment-emergent major bleeding. Considering these risks could help clinicians to optimize the anticoagulant treatment in patients with cancer-associated VTE.

Unanswered questions in cancer-associated thrombosis

Cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with cancer. Treatment of cancer-associated VTE comes with a heightened risk of anticoagulant-related bleeding that differs by choice of anticoagulant as well as by patient- and disease-specific risk factors. Available data from randomized controlled trials and observational studies in cancer-associated VTE suggest that direct oral anticoagulants are effective, continuing anticoagulation beyond six months is indicated in those with active cancer and that patients who develop 'breakthrough' thrombotic events can be effectively treated. We review the evidence that addresses these key clinical questions and offer pragmatic approaches in individualizing care. While significant investigative efforts over the past decade have made impactful advances, future research is needed to better define the factors that contribute to anticoagulant-related bleeding and VTE recurrence, in order to aid clinical decision-making that improves the care of patients with cancer-associated VTE.

Comparison of Different Clinical Prognostic Scores in Patients with Pulmonary Embolism and Active Cancer

OBJECTIVE

 This article aimed to validate and compare the prognostic performance of generic scores (Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index [PESI] and Hestia) and cancer-specific pulmonary embolism (PE)/venous thromboembolism (VTE) scales (Registro Informatizado de la Enfermedad TromboEmbólica [RIETE], POMPE-C, and modified Ottawa) in PE patients with active cancer.

METHODS

 A retrospective study was conducted among 460 patients with PE and active cancer. The primary outcome was 30-day overall mortality. Secondary outcomes were 30-day PE-related death and overall adverse outcomes. The prognostic accuracy of clinical scores was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS

 Within 30 days, 18.0% of patients died, 2.0% suffered major bleeding, and 0.2% presented recurrence of VTE. All scales showed a high area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting 30-day overall mortality except modified Ottawa (0.74 [0.70-0.78] for PESI, Hestia, and RIETE; 0.78 (0.74-0.81) for POMPE-C; 0.64 (0.59-0.68) for modified Ottawa]. PESI divided the least patients (9.1%) into low risk, followed by modified Ottawa (17.0%). Hestia stratified the most patients (65.4%) as low risk. But overall mortality of low-risk patients based on these three scales is high (>5%). RIETE and POMPE-C both classified 30.9% of patients as low risk, and low-risk patients stratified by these two scales presented a low overall mortality (1.4 and 3.5%). Similar predictive performance was found for 30-day PE-related death and overall adverse outcomes in these scores.

CONCLUSION

 Cancer-specific PE prognostic scores (RIETE and POMPE-C) performed better than generic scales (PESI and Hestia) and a cancer-specific VTE prognostic scale (modified Ottawa) in identifying low-risk PE patients with active cancer who may be suitable for outpatient treatment.