Enoxaparin may be safe for patients with cancer, brain metastases

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a new study published online in the journal Blood, researchers have found that patients with cancer and brain metastases who develop blood clots may safely receive enoxaparin, a type of low molecular weight heparin anticoagulant, without increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage.

For the study, researchers sought to assess the risk of intracranial hemorrhage, a dangerous form of bleeding in the head, associated with the administration of therapeutic doses of enoxaparin.

Researchers identified 239 patients with cancer and brain metastases. Of those, 104 received therapeutic enoxaparin and 189 were their matched controls that did not receive blood-thinning treatment.

Results showed that there were no differences in the cumulative incidence of intracranial hemorrhage at 1 year in the enoxaparin and control cohorts.

Researchers found that patients with melanoma or renal cell carcinoma had a fourfold higher risk of intracranial hemorrhage than those with lung cancer, but administration of enoxaparin did not affect that risk. The study also showed that overall survival was similar in both groups.