Direct oral anticoagulants to treat VTE in patients with cancer?

Four direct oral anticoagulants were approved by the FDA in the last few years and are all now indicated for the treatment of DVT and PE.  These include:

• Direct thrombin inhibitor:

     -Dabigatran (Pradaxa)

• Factor Xa inhibitors:

     -Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
     -Apixaban (Eliquis)
     -Edoxaban (Savaysa)


These medications are given orally at fixed doses and do not require coagulation monitoring or titration.  Compared to warfarin (which needs close INR following and can vary drastically