Although rivaroxaban was approved by the FDA in 2012, there has remained a knowledge gap about how it works with cancer patients. A recent study found that the therapy is safe and effective when used among patients with cancer.
Although rivaroxaban was approved by the FDA in 2012, there has remained a knowledge gap about how it works with cancer patients. A recent study, presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting, focused specifically on the safety and efficacy of the therapy when used among cancer patients.
Gerald Soff, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues studied 200 patients with cancer-associated thrombosis and treated them with rivaroxaban. They found that the rate of major bleeding was very low at 1.6% and the rate of recurrent thrombosis was just 4.4%, he told ecancertv. In addition, they did not see any loss in efficacy, safety, or mortality compared with the older generation of anticoagulants.
Dr Soff explained that rivaroxaban also had significantly better patient satisfaction because it is a pill instead of an injection and it costs less.
This study was the first to study rivaroxaban looking only and specifically at cancer patients. Although there have been previous studies where cancer patients were studied as a subgroup, which also found that rivaroxaban provides safety and efficacy.
He concluded that for patients who do not have a contraindication to the drug, they can be treated with rivaroxaban for their thrombosis with a “reasonable reassurance” of safety and efficacy. However, Dr Soff pointed out that like all anticoagulants, rivaroxaban requires that the provider understands the drug and how it works, to know when to use it and when not to use it.
“But there is no evidence right now that there is a problem using it in the cancer niche, and if anything we seem to see favorable safety and efficacy compared to the standard of care,” Dr Soff said.
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More
Pegcetacoplan for PNH More Cost-Effective Than Anti-C5 Monoclonal Antibodies
April 18th 2024A cost-utility analysis conducted from the perspective of the Italian health system found that pegcetacoplan was more effective and less costly than 2 complement 5 (C5) inhibitors for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
Listen
Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
Read More
Many Patients With Psoriasis in Clinical Trials Experience Nocebo Effects, Study Finds
April 18th 2024Half of patients exposed to placebo in clinical trials experienced adverse events (AEs), which may be partially explainable by nocebo effects, according to a recent review and meta-analysis.
Read More