Venous thromboembolism at time of diagnosis of ovarian cancer: Survival differs in symptomatic and asymptomatic cases

Of 397 cases, 19 (4.8%) were found to have VTE at diagnosis, of which 63.2% (n = 12) were asymptomatic. VTE was significantly associated with reduced overall median survival (28 vs. 45 months, p = 0.004). Decreased survival was associated with symptomatic VTE compared to patients with asymptomatic VTE (21 vs. 36 months, p = 0.02) whose survival was similar to that of patients without VTE. Decreased survival remained significant in symptomatic patients after controlling for stage of disease at diagnosis, cytoreductive status and adjuvant chemotherapy use. Overall these data suggest for the first time that symptomatic but not asymptomatic VTE prior to primary treatment of ovarian cancer is an independent adverse prognostic factor.