NCCN Issues First Guidelines for Deep Vein Thrombosis Treatment in Cancer Patients

Extract

For oncologists pondering what agent is the right one for protecting patients against deep vein thromboses, there is little evidence that one drug is superior to another, according to the first guidelines on this condition from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). The writers of the NCCN guidelines could find few differences among available medicines, but they have put forth treatment recommendations.

“We suggest that doctors select an agent based on cost-effectiveness, on the most reliable agent in their hands, and on individual patient conditions,” said Lawrence Wagman, M.D., chairman of the NCCN subcommittee and emeritus professor of surgery at the City of Hope Cancer Center, Duarte, Calif.

Wagman outlined the guidelines at the 11th annual conference of the NCCN, a consortium of 19 tertiary cancer hospitals around the United States. Previous guidelines developed by the NCCN have been adopted by hundreds of other facilities in the United States and abroad and are used in federal demonstration projects.