Prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism during treatment for cancer: questionnaire survey

Venous thromboembolism is common in patients with cancer and is often the cause of death.1 Patients receiving treatment for cancer are at even greater risk of thromboembolism. Thromboembolism occurs in 5% of patients receiving chemotherapy for early breast carcinoma,2 and up to 17.6% of patients receiving chemotherapy for metastatic breast disease are affected.3 Patients with node-negative breast cancer taking tamoxifen were six times more likely to develop venous thromboembolism.4 Adjuvant use of tamoxifen carries a relative risk of 1.22 compared with no treatment. Combining methods of treatment further increases the risk of thromboembolism. Chemotherapy with tamoxifen increases risk by 3.5 times compared with chemotherapy alone,5 and preoperative radiotherapy for rectal carcinoma doubles the postoperative risk of venous thrombosis.5 Low doses (1 mg) of warfarin …