Deep vein thrombosis after monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma

Blood. 2008 Nov 1;112(9):3582-6. doi: 10.1182/blood-2008-04-151076. Epub 2008 Jun 17.

Abstract

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have an increased risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), particularly when treated with immunomodulatory drugs. Recently, 2 small hospital-based studies observed persons with the MM precursor condition, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), to be at increased risk of developing DVT. Among 4 196 197 veterans hospitalized at least once at US Veterans Affairs hospitals, we identified a total of 2374 cases of MGUS, and 39 272 persons were diagnosed with DVT (crude incidence 0.9 per 1000 person-years). A total of 31 and 151 DVTs occurred among MGUS and MM patients, respectively (crude incidence 3.1 and 8.7 per 1000 person-years, respectively; P < .01). Compared with the entire study population, the relative risk (RR) of DVT after a diagnosis of MGUS and MM was 3.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.3-4.7) and 9.2 (95% CI, 7.9-10.8), respectively. The most prominent excess risk of DVT was found during the first year after diagnosis of MGUS (RR = 8.4; 95% CI, 5.7-12.2) and MM (RR = 11.6; 95% CI, 9.2-14.5). Among 229 MGUS cases (9.5%) that progressed to MM, only one person had a DVT diagnosis before transformation. Our findings suggest the operation of shared underlying mechanisms causing coagulation abnormalities among patients with MGUS and MM.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cohort Studies
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hospitals, Veterans
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Myeloma / complications*
  • Multiple Myeloma / epidemiology
  • Multiple Myeloma / etiology
  • Paraproteinemias / complications*
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors
  • United States / epidemiology
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Venous Thrombosis / epidemiology
  • Venous Thrombosis / etiology*