Venous thromboembolism in cancer patients: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline

Thromboembolism in people with cancer still remains a major health problem and is a leading cause of mortality after cancer itself, despite being a largely preventable disease.1 A hypercoagulable state is the hallmark of cancer. It is induced by specific prothrombotic properties of cancer cells that activate blood clotting, as schematically depicted in Figure 1. These properties include the expression and release of procoagulant molecules, the activation of host blood and vascular cells (i.e. platelets, leukocytes and endothelial cells), which enhances their procoagulant potential, and the activation of the endothelium by anticancer drugs.