Key clinical point : High circulating D-dimer levels are a risk factor for mortality and venous thromboembolism (VTE) events in patients with lung cancer.
Major finding : The meta-analysis showed that high vs. low circulating D-dimer levels were associated with a higher risk for lung cancer mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.62; 95% CI 1.39-1.88). Additionally, the external validation cohort demonstrated that elevated D-dimer levels were associated with a higher risk for overall mortality (HR 1.39; 95% CI 1.13-1.72) and VTE events (HR 3.98; P = .002).
Study details : The data come from a meta-analysis of 19 cohort studies (n = 5819) and an external validation cohort (n = 540).
Disclosures: The study was funded by the Social Development Project of Jiangsu Province, China, and the Project of Hygiene and Health Committee of Jiangsu Province, China. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Li J et al. Circulating D-dimers increase the risk of mortality and venous thromboembolism in patients with lung cancer: A systematic analysis combined with external validation. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022;9:853941 (Mar 2). Doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.853941