"Mayo Clinic researchers have found that an oral drug apixaban used to treat blood clots in patients undergoing cancer therapy is safe and effective. The drug was associated with fewer major bleeding events and fewer recurrent blood clots compared to lowmolecular weight heparin. Their findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology by Robert McBane II M.D. a Mayo Clinic cardiologist. Nearly  in  patients with cancer will develop a clot in the veins referred to as either a deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism says Dr. McBane. Clotting events can be deadly with pulmonary embolism being the second most common cause of death in cancer patients. While twicedaily injections of lowmolecularweight heparin has been the traditional treatment of choice for cancer patients who suffer a venous clot Dr. McBane notes that there are numerous limitations to this therapy. These injections can be painful and cause considerable bruising at the injection site. Injections are expensive at nearly  per day. And cancer patients may experience low platelet counts and be at risk for a clotting disorder called heparininduced thrombocytopenia. Dr. McBane noted that cancer and cancer treatment can be associated with kidney injury which can limit the drugs use further. Finally Dr. McBane says there isnt is a good antidote for this medication should a bleeding problem arise. More recently a number of new blood thinners called direct oral anticoagulants have become available says Dr. McBane. As a class these drugs have a number of advantages including oral delivery lack of interactions with foods or other medications and the lack of a need for monitoring drug levels. He says these qualities make this class of drug much easier to use than the traditional blood thinners. However it was unclear whether these drugs could be used safely in cancer patients until now. Dr. McBane says quality of life surveys which were taken monthly throughout the sixmonth trial showed that patients markedly preferred oral apixaban over injectable dalteparin. We are hopeful that this medication will also improve medication compliance in cancer patients requiring blood thinner therapy.  About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center  As a leading institution funded by the National Cancer Institute Mayo Clinic Cancer Center conducts basic clinical and population science research translating discoveries into improved methods for prevention diagnosis prognosis and therapy. For information on cancer clinical trials call the Clinical Trials Referral Office at  tollfree. About Mayo Clinic  Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice education and research providing expert comprehensive care to everyone who needs healing. Learn more about Mayo Clinic. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network"