EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL:
October 29, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Contact:
Lindsay Strug
703-299-1085
strugl@asco.org
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has released new clinical guideline recommendations on the use of anticoagulants to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clots, in people with cancer.
Blood clots and their complications are a leading cause of death in patients with cancer and may affect 4 to 20 percent of people with cancer at some point in their treatment. Major risk factors for developing a blood clot include age, primary site of cancer, hospitalization, a history of VTE, and active therapy such as chemotherapy, antiangiogenic drugs, and hormonal therapy.
The primary treatment for blood clots in cancer patients is an anticoagulant, a drug that helps to break up the blood clot. Anticoagulants may raise a patient’s risk of bleeding and treatment often requires a short hospital stay, but, in virtually every case, the benefits of treatment with anticoagulants outweigh the risks, according to Gary H. Lyman, MD, co-chair of the guideline panel and Director, Health Services and Outcomes Research Program-Oncology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
The key recommendations in the guideline include:
• All hospitalized patients with cancer should receive preventive anticoagulation.
• All patients with cancer who develop a blood clot should be treated with an anticoagulant for at least six months and possibly longer in those who continue treatment for active cancer.
• Doctors should evaluate all patients with cancer receiving major surgery, for administering anticoagulation, beginning before the operation or as soon afterwards as possible.
• Regular use of an anticoagulant for patients with cancer who are not hospitalized and receiving chemotherapy is not recommended, except for patients with multiple myeloma receiving thalidomide or lenalidomide with chemotherapy or dexamethasone (a steroid).
“The frequency of diagnosed blood clots in cancer patients has been rising yearly. On the other hand, several studies suggest that anticoagulants are underused, particularly in hospitalized cancer patients who are at increased risk,” Dr. Lyman said.
“More research is also urgently needed to identify better markers of who is most likely to develop VTE among ambulatory cancer patients,” Dr. Lyman added. “People with cancer should be encouraged to ask their oncologist about their risk of VTE and to participate in clinical trials designed to evaluate anticoagulant therapy as an adjunct to standard anticancer therapies.”
The guideline will be published in the December 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Along with the new guideline, ASCO also has released a corresponding patient guide available on ASCO’s patient Web site, People Living With Cancer, at www.plwc.org.
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"American Society Of Clinical Oncology Guideline: Recommendations for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis and Treatment in Patients with Cancer" by Gary H. Lyman, et al., Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.
This guideline is being published in the December 1 print issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the semi-monthly peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s leading professional society representing physicians who treat people with cancer.
For a copy of the guideline and available supplemental materials, visit www.asco.org/guidelines, call 703-299-1180, or e-mail: guidelines@asco.org.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional organization representing physicians of all oncology subspecialties who care for people with cancer. ASCO’s nearly 25,000 members from the United States and abroad set the standard for patient care and lead the efforts to discover more effective cancer treatments, increase funding for clinical and translational research, and, ultimately, improve cancer care for the estimated 10 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide each year. ASCO publishes the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the preeminent, peer-reviewed, medical journal on clinical cancer research, and produces People Living With Cancer (www.PLWC.org), a comprehensive consumer Web site providing oncologist-vetted cancer information to help patients and families make informed health-care decisions.
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