La tromboembolia pulmonar (TEP) constituye una causa frecuente de morbimortalidad en los pacientes oncologicos. Tener cancer es un factor de riesgo de muerte independiente en las series generales de pacientes con TEP y se incluye como variable en las escalas pronosticas de TEP aguda sintomatica. Este hecho limita el poder discriminatorio de estas escalas generales en los pacientes con cancer y ha motivado el desarrollo de herramientas pronosticas especificas: POMPE-C y una escala derivada del registro RIETE.
No esta bien estudiado si el mayor riesgo de muerte por TEP en los pacientes con cancer se debe a complicaciones relacionadas con la neoplasia o a una mayor gravedad del episodio tromboembolico en esta poblacion. Por otro lado, la introduccion de la tomografia computarizada multidetector en los ultimos anos ha comportado un diagnostico creciente de TEP incidental, que en la actualidad representa hasta la mitad de las embolias pulmonares en los pacientes oncologicos.
El estudio EPIPHANY pretende profundizar en las caracteristicas propias de la embolia pulmonar en el paciente oncologico incluyendo TEP incidental y sintomatica. Sus objetivos principales son: a) conocer los patrones clinicoepidemiologicos de la embolia pulmonar asociada al cancer; b) desarrollar y validar un modelo pronostico especifico de TEP en esta poblacion. Incluye el registro de variables de interes en oncologia (tipo y extension del cancer, tratamientos oncoespecificos, estado funcional del paciente, progresion del cancer), variables radiologicas (carga trombotica, signos de sobrecarga ventricular y otros hallazgos adicionales), lugar de tratamiento (hospitalizacion o ambulatorio), complicaciones agudas y causas de muerte en los pacientes con TEP asociado al cancer.
Pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with cancer. Having cancer is an independent risk factor for death in the general series of patients with PE and is included as a variable in the prognostic scales of acute symptomatic PE. This fact limits the discriminatory power of these general scales for patients with cancer and has prompted the development of specific prognostic tools: POMPE-C and a scale derived from the RIETE registry.
Whether the increased risk of death by PE in patients with cancer is due to complications related to the neoplasm or to a greater severity of the thromboembolic episode in this population has not been well studied. Moreover, the introduction of computed multidetector tomography in recent years has led to a growing diagnosis of incidental PE, which currently represents up to half of pulmonary embolisms in patients with cancer.
The EPIPHANY study attempts to further the understanding of the characteristics of pulmonary embolisms in patients with cancer by including incidental and symptomatic events. Its primary objectives are a) to understand the clinical and epidemiological patterns of pulmonary embolism associated with cancer and b) to develop and validate a specific prognosis model for PE in this population. The registry includes variables of interest to oncology (cancer type and extent, oncospecific treatments, patient's functional condition, cancer progression), radiological variables (thrombotic burden, signs of ventricular overload and other findings), location of treatment (hospital or outpatient), acute complications and causes of death in patients with PE associated with cancer.
