Report from the 58th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting — Benign Hematology

Editors from NEJM Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology attended the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, held December 3 to 6, 2016, in San Diego, CA. Here, Dr. David Green describes the latest findings in benign hematology. The original abstracts can be found at the ASH website.

Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Cancer Patients

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been shown to prevent thrombosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), but whether such patients can safely remain on these agents if they develop a malignancy is unclear.

To address this issue, Shah and colleagues conducted an analysis of medical claims data on 6075 AF patients (mean age, 74 years) with active cancers (most commonly breast cancer) receiving a DOAC (a…