Dr. Khorana on Blood Clots in Patients with Cancer

Alok Khorana, MD, medical oncologist, Cleveland Clinic, discusses blood clot risk and treatment for patients with cancer.

On average, one-fifth of patients with cancer will experience a blood clot, says Khorana. For years, the standard of care for treating blood clots in cancer patients was low molecular weight heparins. More recently, direct oral anticoagulants have become common for the treatment of blood clots.

However, there have been no cancer patient-specific studies evaluating these new agents. Patients' absorption is different and they may have different interactions to these blood clots therapies than non-cancer therapies, says Khorana. In a collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Cleveland Clinic is investigating these new agents in a cancer patient-specific trial.