The increasing association of pulmonary embolism with cancer deaths: A seven-year, US-based, nationwide analysis

Objective

To establish the association between pulmonary embolism (PE) and cancer deaths.

Study design

Retrospective, observational.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis using data from the WONDER database, analyzing the number of deaths associated with cancer and PE between 2018 and 2024 in the US, calculating mortality rates and assessing temporal trends using Poisson regression analysis.

Results

Out of 4,959,437 cancer-related deaths recorded in the WONDER database during the past seven years, 96,366 were associated with PE, yielding a cumulative mortality rate of 1.94 %. The highest rate of PE-associated cancer deaths was found for malignancies of uterus, followed by pancreas, stomach, lung, breast, colon and rectum, and brain. The proportion of PE associated with cancer deaths increased from 1.61 % in 2018 to 2.21 % in 2024, with average annual increase of 5.2 %. Poisson regression analysis revealed a statistically significant upward trend (r = 0.930; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that enhancing PE prevention remains an important clinical goal, but support also the need for further research to clarify whether this association reflects a causal relationship.