cancer is a known independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE)[1]. However, in recent years, its role also as a risk factor for arterial thrombotic events (ATE) has been elucidated[2]. Since there is much more information for VTE than for ATE, the risk of VTE was considered to be greater than arterial[3]. Only recently, data from population studies have better defined the extent of the risk of ATE in cancer patients, sometimes comparing it to that of VTE in the same populations[4]. Both VTE and ATE events show higher incidence in the three months preceding the diagnosis of cancer and especially in the 6–12 following months[3,5].
