Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Venous Hypercoagulable States in Cancer

Abstract

An hypercoagulable state frequently accompanies malignancy, due to the ability of tumor cells to activate the coagulation system, which leads to thrombosis that is responsible for the second cause of mortality in cancer patients. A four-fold increase of thrombotic risk occurs in cancer, and the increase is even greater during chemotherapy. A clinically detectable venous thromboembolism was detected in 15% of all cancer patients. Some cancers are more likely to be prothrombotic (prevalence is 27-28%, in pancreas and lung, 13% in stomach, but only 3% in colon cancer).