Pros and cons of new oral anticoagulants in the treatment of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer

Abstract

Patients with cancer account for 20 % of cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Cancer patients are at increased risk for VTE during the entire course of their disease, also in absence of traditional VTE risk factors. Furthermore, patients with VTE and cancer have an estimated risk of bleeding of 15-20 % per year while on anticoagulant treatment. For these reasons, treatment of acute VTE in patients with cancer remains a clinical challenge. In clinical studies, which included about 27,000 patients, new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been shown to be as effective and safe as conventional anticoagulation (heparin given with and followed by vitamin K antagonists) for the treatment of VTE. In these studies, 1227 patients with active cancer were enrolled. Preliminary results of subgroup analyses and meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials suggest that NOACs could represent an alternative to conventional anticoagulation in patients with active cancer. Further "ad hoc" studies evaluating the clinical benefit of treatment with NOACs in patients with VTE and cancer are needed.