Implications of cytogenetics for venous thromboembolism in acute myeloid leukaemia

Due to the high risk of thrombocytopenia and haemorrhage, thrombotic complications have received little attention in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Furthermore, the predictive role of cytogenetics on venous thromboembolism (VTE) has largely been ignored. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and prognostic aspects of VTE in AML. A total of 811 consecutive patients with AML were enrolled and analysed retrospectively. Cox time-dependent covariate regression analysis was used to identify the significant predictors of VTE development. To minimise potential confounding factors, we used propensity-score matching to compare overall survival between patients with and without VTE. The six-month and one-year cumulative incidences of VTE were 3.1 % (95 % confidence interval [CI], 2.0-4.7) and 3.9 % (95 % CI, 2.6-5.7), respectively. Of the 26 cases of VTE, 22 (85 %) developed within 6 months of leukemia diagnosis and 13 (50 %) were catheter-related. In multivariate analysis, advanced age (≥65 years) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.70; p = 0.03) and increasing cytogenetic risk (common HR, 1.84; p = 0.05) were independent predictors of VTE. There was no significant association between VTE development and decreased survival (p = 0.32 for matched analysis). Advanced age and increasing cytogenetic risk, well-known predictors for clinical outcome in AML, were also independent risk factors of VTE development. Our results suggest that VTE does not hold prognostic implications for AML.