The risk of newly diagnosed cancer after a first episode of venous thromboembolism is elevated during at least the following two years. Subsequently, the risk seems to be lower among patients treated with oral anticoagulants for six months than among those treated for six weeks. It should, by raising awareness of the risk of certain cancers in patients with idiopathic thromboembolism. The necessity of appropriate follow-up in these patients is clear. For now, the answer must be no.
Anticoagulants lower the risk from clotting but raise the risk of bleeding.
For the majority of patients a treatment duration of 6 months eliminates the high risk of relatively early recurrences without yielding an increase in the incidence of major haemorrhages. Incidence of Cancer after Prophylaxis with Warfarin against Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism. Schulman S Department of Haematology and Infectious Disease, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Levine MN, Lee AY, Cancer Care Ontario Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada.