Prolonged anticoagulation therapy benefits cancer patients with isolated distal DVT

A 12-month treatment course of edoxaban appears to yield superior outcomes for cancer patients with isolated distal deep vein thrombosis (DVT), being associated with reduced incidence of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) or VTE-related deaths as compared with a 3-month treatment course, a study has shown.

The study included 604 cancer patients with isolated distal DVT. These patients were randomly assigned to receive edoxaban treatment for either 12 months or 3 months. The primary endpoint was a composite of a symptomatic recurrent VTE or VTE-related death at 12 months. Major bleeding at 12 months was also assessed based on the criteria of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis.

Of the patients, 601 were included in the intention-to-treat population, including 296 patients in the 12-month edoxaban group and 305 in the 3-month edoxaban group. The mean age of the population was 70.8 years, with 28 percent of the patients being men and 20 percent having symptoms of DVT at baseline.

Symptomatic recurrent VTE event or VTE-related death was documented in three patients in the 12-month edoxaban group and in 22 of those in the 3-month edoxaban group (1.0 percent vs 7.2 percent; odds ratio [OR], 0.13, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.03–0.44).

Meanwhile, major bleeding occurred with a greater frequency in the 12-month than in the 3-month edoxaban group (9.5 percent vs 7.2 percent; OR, 1.34, 95 percent CI, 0.75–2.41).

Estimates on the primary endpoint were consistent across the prespecified subgroups.