Hypercoagulability has been demonstrated to have a strong association with cancer. It may result in sterile thrombotic cardiac vegetations known as “non-bacterial thrombotic” or “marantic” endocarditis. While cancer-associated NBTE is a rare entity, lung and pancreatic cancers are the most common tumor sites. Adenocarcinoma is the most common pathology, and embolization is the most common presentation. Survival is better in cases that undergo surgery and in more recent years. To prevent the potentially devastating complication of marantic endocarditis, we recommend conducting more aggressive echocardiography screening for patients with solid tumors, particularly those with adenocarcinoma of the lung and pancreas. This is based on the finding that 88.6% of patients with marantic endocarditis in this meta-analysis initially presented with embolic cerebrovascular events.

Hypercoagulability is strongly associated with cancer and may result in non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE). The aim of our meta-analysis was to explore the demographics and characteristics of this condition in cancer. Databases were systematically searched. The outcomes were to identify the annual trend in premortem diagnosis among the entire cohort and different subgroups and to identify differences in characteristics and survival in the considered population. A total of 121 studies with 144 patients were included. The proportion of marantic endocarditis associated with lung cancer was 0.29 (95% CI, 0.21–0.37; p < 0.001), that associated with pancreatic cancer was 0.19 (95% CI, 0.13–0.27; p < 0.001), that associated with advanced cancer stage (metastasis) was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.61–0.76; p < 0.001), and that associated with adenocarcinoma was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.56–0.72; p < 0.001). Median and 6-month overall survival (OS) were 1.3 months and 32.3%, respectively, with 6-month OS of 20.8% vs. 37.0% in lung vs. other cancers, respectively (p = 0.06) and 42.9% vs. 31.1% among those who underwent intervention vs. those who did not (p = 0.07). Cases discovered in recent years had better survival (HR = 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96–0.99; p = 0.003). While cancer-associated NBTE is a rare entity, lung cancers were the most common tumor site and are frequently associated with more advanced and metastatic cancer stages. The prognosis is dismal, especially among lung cancers.