The recent International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Congress, held on 12–14 July 2020, as a virtual congress, was a great success, with live sessions and major discussions and engagements among participants via social media, especially Twitter, where the hashtag #ISTH2020 has been a trending topic worldwide on the first day of the congress (Figure 1).
Among the abstracts registered for the conference, the theme “Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and cardioembolism” gathered the highest number of contributions (n=436). Within this theme, the subject of “Cancer-associated thrombosis” (CAT) had 80 abstracts, second only to the “Venous thromboembolism treatment” with 102 (1).
Many of the studies presented focused on the correct use of anticoagulant drugs to treat or prevent VTE and bleeding in cancer patients, but also to fight cancer (2). A wide coverage was provided to clinical studies involving the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), and here are some examples:
- An evaluation of the efficacy and safety of DOACs for VTE treatment or atrial fibrillation in patients with hematological malignancies (3)
- The effectiveness and safety assessment of DOACs in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms and VTE (4)
- The determination of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with brain metastases using DOACs (5)
- An investigation on drug–drug interactions in patients taking DOACs (6)
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials testing the use of DOACs as a treatment option for CAT (7).
Several abstracts were related to the evaluation of risk associated to VTE or arterial thromboembolism in different settings or different groups of patients:
- Risk, mortality and costs of CAT in hospitalized patients (8)
- Risk of arterial thromboembolism in cancer patients from Danish registries, including cases from 1997 to 2007 (9)
- A systematic review of risks and benefits of antithrombotic therapy in polycythemia vera (10).
Some studies were dedicated to the patient experience, not only from a clinical management point of view, but also with a more general emphasis of their involvement in understanding the signs of CAT (11) or the direct experience of patients subjected to palliative care (12,13).
As a feature reflecting the peculiar situation experienced in the last months with the pandemic, an abstract reported the analysis of the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium Registry Analysis on venous thrombotic complications in cancer patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (14).
All the abstracts, together with an extensive collection of recorded sessions are still available on the official ISTH 2020 congress website.
References
- https://abstracts.isth.org/meetings/isth-2020-congress/?viewby=topics
- Vorobev A, Makatsariya A, Bitsadze V, Khizroeva J, Solopova A, Sannikova V, Petrova S. Anticoagulation Therapy as Prevention of Cancer Relapce [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020;4(Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/anticoagulation-therapy-as-prevention-of-cancer-relapce/. Accessed August 12, 2020.
- Serrao A, Fiori L, Santoro C, Breccia M, Baldacci E, De Luca ML, De Luca G, Barone F, Chistolini A. Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Hematological Malignancies [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020;4(Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/direct-oral-anticoagulants-in-patients-with-hematological-malignancies/. Accessed August 12, 2020.
- De Stefano V, Betti S, Za T, Ciminello A, Bartolomei F, Ceglie S, Ramundo F, Di Landro F, Chiusolo P, Rossi E, Barbui T. Effectiveness and Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Ph-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and Venous Thromboembolism [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020;4(Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/effectiveness-and-safety-of-direct-oral-anticoagulants-in-patients-with-ph-negative-myeloproliferative-neoplasms-and-venous-thromboembolism/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Leader A, Hamulyák EN, Carney BJ, Avrahami M, Knip JJ, Rozenblatt S, Beenen LFM, Yust-Katz S, Coppens M, Raanani P, Middeldorp S, Büller HR, Zwicker JI, Spectre G. Intracranial Hemorrhage with Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Brain Metastases [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020;4(Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/intracranial-hemorrhage-with-direct-oral-anticoagulants-in-patients-with-brain-metastases/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Weatherill A, Sayar Z, Gates C, Thomas M. Use of Anti-Factor Xa Levels in Cancer Patients Taking Direct Oral Anticoagulants [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020;4(Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/use-of-anti-factor-xa-levels-in-cancer-patients-taking-direct-oral-anticoagulants/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Alikhan R, Rees M. Cancer Associated Thrombosis: Are DOACs a Treatment Option? Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/cancer-associated-thrombosis-are-doacs-a-treatment-option-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-of-randomised-controlled-trials/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Jen WY, Santoso E, Kumari S, Chee YL. Risk Factors, Mortality and Costs of Cancer-Associated Thrombosis in Hospitalised Patients [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/risk-factors-mortality-and-costs-of-cancer-associated-thrombosis-in-hospitalised-patients/. Accessed August 12, 2020.
- Mulder F, Horváth-Puhó E, van Es N, Pedersen L, Büller HR, Bøtker HE, Sørensen HT. Risk of Arterial Thromboembolism in Cancer Patients: A Population-Based Cohort Study [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/risk-of-arterial-thromboembolism-in-cancer-patients-a-population-based-cohort-study/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Laureano M, Goodliffe L, Barbui T, Chu D, Ferrari A, Siegal D. Risks and Benefits of Antithrombotic Therapy in Polycythemia Vera: A Systematic Review [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/risks-and-benefits-of-antithrombotic-therapy-in-polycythemia-vera-a-systematic-review/. Accessed August 12, 2020.
- Merino M, Colomé E, Esposito F, Beato C, Araújo A, De Miguel Y, Font C. Empowering Cancer Patients for Non-Pharmacological Primary Prevention and Early Recognition of Cancer-Associated Thrombosis (CAT): The EMPATIC-CP Survey [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/empowering-cancer-patients-for-non-pharmacological-primary-prevention-and-early-recognition-of-cancer-associated-thrombosis-cat-the-empatic-cp-survey/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Ayende-Perez S, Peña-Nieves A, Arcos A, Baz P, Verastegui-Avilés E, Cesarman Maus G. Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Cancer in Palliative Care [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/venous-thromboembolism-in-patients-with-cancer-in-palliative-care/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Yap E-, Swarnkar P, Nelson A, Noble S, the PELICAN Investigators . Patients Experience of Living with Cancer Associated Thrombosis in Singapore (PELICAN) [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/patients-experience-of-living-with-cancer-associated-thrombosis-in-singapore-pelican/. Accessed August 13, 2020.
- Rosovsky R, Li A, Desai A, Shah D, Fu J, Gulati S, Zon R, Thompson M, Grivas P, de Lima Lopes G, Shyr Y, Warner J, Khaki A, Choueiri T, Peters S, Rivera D, Rini B, Lyman G, Connors J, Kuderer N, on behalf of the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) . Venous Thrombotic Complications in Cancer Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Report from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) Registry Analysis [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/venous-thrombotic-complications-in-cancer-patients-with-sars-cov-2-infection-report-from-the-covid-19-and-cancer-consortium-ccc19-registry-analysis/. Accessed August 12, 2020.