Improvement of thrombosis management in patients with cancer: a practical consensus document of recommendations for cancer-associated thrombosis patients’ healthcare in Spain

TL;DR

This paper provides practical recommendations for managing blood clots in cancer patients in Spain, aiming to improve healthcare consistency and outcomes.

Contribution

A new consensus document offering practical guidelines for cancer-associated thrombosis management in Spain.

Findings

Current guidelines recommend LMWH or DOAC for initial VTE treatment in cancer patients.

Practical recommendations and treatment algorithms are provided to standardize CAT management in Spain.

Abstract

Cancer patients are at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), its recurrence, but also at risk of bleeding while anticoagulated. In addition, cancer therapies have been associated to increased VTE risk. Guidelines for VTE treatment in cancer patients recommend low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) or direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) for the initial treatment, DOAC for VTE short-term treatment, and LMWH or DOAC for VTE long-term treatment. This consensus article arises from a collaboration between different Spanish experts on cancer-associated thrombosis. It aims to reach an agreement on a practical document of recommendations for action allowing the healthcare homogenization of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) patients in Spain considering not only what is known about VTE management in cancer patients but also what is done in Spanish hospitals in the clinical practice. The text summarizes the current knowledge and available evidence on the subject in Spain and provides a series of practical recommendations for CAT management and treatment algorithms to help clinicians to manage CAT over time.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12094-023-03379-z.

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