Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Undergoing Anticoagulant Treatment for Venous Thromboembolism: The Quavitec Study

• Published in: Blood 2016-12, Vol.128 (22), p.880-880
• Main Authors: Farge, Dominique, Falvo, Nicolas, Resche-Rigon, Matthieu, Berremili, Toufek, Couturaud, Francis, Bensaoula, Okba, Védrine, Lionel, Bonnet, Isabelle, Péré-Vergé, Denis, Coudurier, Marie, Li, Veronique, Cajfinger, Francis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.V128.22.880.880

Introduction: Treatment and prevention of VTE is crucial, yet anticoagulation is under-prescribed in cancer patients. The recommended treatment for established VTE in cancer patients is low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) once daily for at least 3 months, and termination or continuation of treatment after 3-6 months is still based on individual evaluation of the benefit-risk ratio, tolerability, drug availability, patient preference, and cancer. Despite important concerns about long-term patient tolerance for LMWH treatment (after 10 days) and its side effects, no study has analyzed the overall impact of LMWH on quality-of-life (QoL) in cancer patients. Methods: In this prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study, consecutive eligible adult cancer patients (>18 years), diagnosed with either deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism (PE), were recruited at participating centers between February 2011 and 2012. Patients were asked to answer three questionnaires administered at time of VTE diagnosis (M0), and 3 (M3) and 6 (M6) months after start of anticoagulant treatment: 1) the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS SF-36) for generic Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), 2) the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QoL Questionnaire, and 3) the Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study (VEINES)-QOL questionnaire. Results (median[iqr], Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test): At M0, 400 cancer patients (51.5% female) were included, 60.4% with metastatic disease and 67.0% on chemotherapy. The choice of anticoagulant was made by the attending physician. 88.75% of patients received LMWH, 5.5% a vitamin K antagonist, 1.5% unfractionated heparin, and 3.75% a direct oral anticoagulant. Throughout the study, 18.9% of patients on LMWH reported at least one side effect with injection (number of reports: pain, 26 (7.3%); ecchymosis, 57(16.1%); pruritis, 2(0.6%); nodules, 28 (7.9%)). Mortality rate was 24.73%, with 79 deaths attributable to cancer progression and 3 to VTE. At M3, patients on LMWH showed a significant increase of 3.9 [5.7-14 ] points in the MOS SF-36 global HRQoL score (p=0.0007) and 8.3 [-8.3;17] points in the EORTC global Health status/QoL survey (p=0.0001). The veinsQoL score decreased by 2 [-5.2-4] points (p=0.022). Logistic regression analysis identified predictive factors common to both MOS SF-36 and EORTC: ECOG scores (MOS SF-36, p=0.050; EORTC, p=0.006) and whether patients were ambulatory