Systemic thrombolysis in patients with acute stroke and active cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cancer patients frequently have concomitant cerebrovascular diseases, which significantly worsen their prognosis. Prospective studies validating intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) safety profile in patients with acute ischemic stroke and active cancer are still lacking. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate IVT’s efficacy and safety profile in acute ischemic stroke patients with comorbid active cancer. We included in a meta-analysis all relevant published studies, including patients with acute ischemic stroke with or without active cancer and receiving IVT, according to recommendations for IVT treatment for acute ischemic stroke. The primary outcomes were: any intracerebral hemorrhage, all-cause mortality, and good functional outcome reported as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 2 at the end of the scheduled follow-up period. We included 11 studies in the meta-analysis. IVT was not associated with a significant increase in the incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage (OR 1.35; 95% CI 0.85–2.14; I 2 76%), nor with a significant increase in death for any cause (OR 1.26; 95% CI 0.91–1.75; I 2 71%); furthermore, IVT did not influence mRS between cancer and non-active cancer stroke patients (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.35–1.49; I 2 59%). IVT seems safe and effective in patients with ischemic stroke and concomitant cancer. Due to the low overall quality of the evidence, high-quality randomized controlled trials with adequate sample sizes are needed.