Association between the Khorana score and pulmonary embolism risk in patients with advanced stage lung cancer.

Introduction: The Khorana score may help physicians to identify patients at high risk of Pulmonary embolism (PE) and decide who is eligible for thromboprophylaxis, however, its role in lung cancer patients remains unclear.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate association between the Khorana score and risk of PE development among advanced stage lung cancer inpatients treated with chemotherapy.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study included 2008-2017 year data of 217 lung cancer inpatients with IIIB and IV clinical stages receiving chemotherapy. The Khorana score was evaluated and patients were divided in two groups: a group of patients with 1 point and a group of patients with 2 or more points of the Khorana score.
Results: The study population included 46 (21.2%) female and 171 (78.8%) male patients whose median age was 62. During median observation period of 308.5 days 26 (11.9%) patients developed PE. Study included 137 patients with 1 point and 80 patients with 2 or more points of the Khorana score. The frequency of PE was 17 (12.4%) among patients with 1 point and 9 (11.3%) among patients with 2 points of the Khorana score. The relative risk of PE for patients with 2 or more points was 0.895 (95% CI = 0.379-2.114), P = 0.800.
Conclusion: The Khorana score was not associated with PE development risk among advanced stage lung cancer inpatients treated with chemotherapy.
(© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)