Venous thromboembolism in cancer patients: Still looking for answers

Abstract

Patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) represent a real challenge in clinical practice. Patients with cancer have a greater risk both of VTE and bleeding. There are only a few studies regarding the therapeutic approach of VTE in patients with cancer, especially after cancer surgery, and on thromboprophylaxis during chemotherapy. Many of the anticoagulation therapy recommendations for cancer patients are extrapolated from trials that are not conducted in cancer cohorts. It is essential to assess the efficacy and safety of VTE prophylaxis in this particular subgroup, which bears higher risks both of VTE recurrence and major hemorrhagic events. The introduction of direct oral anticoagulants in everyday practice represented a major evolution of the anticoagulant treatment. Direct anticoagulants could represent a more appealing alternative to low-molecular-weight heparin in paraneoplastic venous thrombosis, due to the patient comfort, easy administration of the drug and emerging studies that prove similar efficacy and safety as the standard treatment. However, there is limited data on the treatment with direct oral anticoagulants in patients with paraneoplastic venous thromboembolism.

Keywords: cancer; direct oral anticoagulants; heparin; paraneoplastic; venous thromboembolism.