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VIDEO: Direct oral anticoagulants show promise for reducing stroke, bleeding risk in patients with cancer
SAN DIEGO — Alok A. Khorana, MD, spoke with HemOnc Today at the ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition about the use of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with cancer.
A large, population-based study compared FDA–approved direct oral anticoagulants — including dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim), rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Janssen) and apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol Meyers Squibb) — with standard-of-care warfarin to determine their effectiveness for reducing the risk for stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation.
“This is an important study because we are still trying to understand how these new drugs — which are very patient-friendly and are less expensive than low–molecular-weight heparin — can best be utilized,” said Khorana, professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, vice chair for clinical services of Taussig Cancer Institute and director of the gastrointestinal malignancies program at Cleveland Clinic.
Patients given direct oral anticoagulants demonstrated lower or similar rates of bleeding and stroke, as well as a lower risk for incident VTE, than warfarin users.
“Hopefully the results of this abstract will provide promise that these drugs can soon be used in the cancer setting,” Khorana said. – by Kristie L. Kahl
Reference:
Shah S, et al. Abstract 877. Presented at: ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition; Dec. 3-6, 2016; San Diego.
Disclosure: Khorana reports consultant roles with Amgen, Bayer, Halozyme, Janssen Scientific Affairs, LEO Pharma, Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi; honoraria from Amgen, Bayer, Halozyme, Janssen, LEO Pharma, Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi; and research funding from Amgen, Janssen Scientific Affairs and LEO Pharma.