Anticoagulants for cancer-associated ischemic stroke.
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ABSTRACT: Patients with cancer-associated ischemic stroke pose similar clinical manifestations and image characteristics, mainly embolic infarction, as patients with atrial fibrillation do. D-dimer, a degraded product of fibrin polymer, is a useful indicator of hypercoagulability, which frequently increases in cancer-associated stroke, but not in stroke resulted from atrial fibrillation. The level of serum D-dimer is associated with mortality, prognosis, and recurrence of systemic thromboembolism in these patients. Theoretically, drugs block coagulation cascade, such as heparin and low-molecular-weight-heparin (LMWH), oral direct anticoagulants, could attenuate the status of hypercoagulation and decrease the amount of D-dimer. These drugs may be helpful to prevent thromboembolic events in patients with cancer-associated hypercoagulability. Vitamin K antagonist, warfarin, decreases the production of coagulation factors, but not interrupts coagulation cascade may not be helpful to decrease hypercoagulability, but increase the risk of bleeding. However, the treatment of cancer-associated embolic stroke is still controversial. This article reviews relevant clinical studies and proposes the applicability of direct oral anticoagulants from the pathophysiological mechanism.
SUBMITTER: Hsu JY
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6559024 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul-Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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