Cor Vasa 2022, 64(1):11-14 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2021.126

The role of the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score as a venous thromboembolism predictor in cancer patients

Ekrem Şahan^a, Suna Kavurgaci^b

^a Cardiology, Atatürk Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

^b Pulmonology, Atatürk Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

Objective: Cardiooncology is one of the subjects of interest of cardiology department recently. Venous thromboembolism is one of the cardiovascular problems encountered after cancer diagnosis and during cancer treatment. The CHA₂DS₂-VASc score is a score system that determines the risk of embolism in atrial fibrillation and determines the indication for anticoagulant therapy. In our study, we wanted to investigate the relationship between venous thromboembolism and CHA₂DS₂-VASc score in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Material and method: 687 patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 1 July 2010 and 15 May 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. 403 patients who had a surgical history in the last 1 month before the diagnosis of VTE, who received massive transfusion therapy, and who underwent central-peripheral venous catheterization in the extremity with VTE, or who had incomplete data in their files were excluded from the study. As a result, 96 patients with a diagnosis of VTE and 188 patients without a diagnosis of VTE were included in the study. CHA₂DS₂-VASc score and Khorana score were calculated in both groups.

Results: There was no significant difference in age between the patient groups with and without VTE diagnosis. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of gender, hypertension and vascular disease diagnosis. There was no statistically significant difference in both groups in terms of Khorana score. The CHA₂DS₂-VASc score was significantly higher in the group diagnosed with VTE compared to the group without VTE.

Conclusion: Under the increasing number of cancer cases and chemotherapy options, the importance of cardiooncology is increasing day by day. The CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, which we frequently use in clinical practice, can be used as a predictor of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients.

Keywords: Cancer, CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, Thromboembolism

Received: March 30, 2021; Revised: March 30, 2021; Accepted: November 10, 2021; Published: February 22, 2022  Show citation