Clinical utility of apixaban in the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism: current evidence

Venous thromboembolism in musculoskeletal oncology surgery

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including both deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a major complication of musculoskeletal surgery in general, and the risk is heightened in musculoskeletal oncology surgery. Despite the well-known association between cancer and VTE, the mechanism promoting this pathology is not entirely well understood. It is estimated that nearly all cancer patients will experience from some form of VTE, whether or not clinically relevant, during the course of their disease. Nonetheless, numerous studies have analyzed the occurrence and prevention of VTE in patients with cardiovascular disease or suffering trauma, but very few have specifically examined the safety or efficacy of preventing VTE in cancer patients with metastatic skeletal disease. This review will examine the various types of prophylactic treatment, timing of administration, risk stratification for determining the appropriate course of anticoagulation (AC), and discuss current views on chemical prophylaxes relativity to wound complications and excessive bleeding in orthopedic oncology patients. Overall, careful choice of anticoagulant and timing of administration must be made in order to avoid bleeding complications. A risk stratification system to determine which chemical prophylaxis to administered could be beneficial in both reducing the occurrence of VTE and decreasing associated wound complications or mortality. Further study should be conducted to tailor chemical prophylaxes recommendations to this largely affected population and effectively reduce the occurrence of VTE.

APIXABAN'ın DOZA BAĞLI ANTİANJİYOJENİK POTANSİYELİ: Deneysel bir bakış

Amaç: Direkt oral antikoagülanlar (DOAK'lar), tromboembolizmin tedavisi ve önlenmesi için geleneksel tıbbi rejimlere iyi alternatiflerdir. Apixaban, bu yeni geliştirilen ilaçların daha popüler varyasyonlarından biridir. Antikoagülan potansiyelinin yanı sıra, olası hücresel etkiler gelecekteki çalışmaların konusu olmaya devam etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, korioallantoik membran (CAM) modelinde apiksaban'ın olası antianjiyogenik etkilerini araştırmaktı. Yöntem: Apixaban'ın 10-4, 10-5 ve 10-6 M konsantrasyonlarında ilaç peletleri hazırlandı ve yumurta inkübasyonunun dördüncü gününde korioallantoik membrana yerleştirildi. Sekizinci günde, membranların tüm vasküler yoğunlukları, bilinen bir monoklonal, insanlaştırılmış, vasküler endotelyal büyüme faktörü inhibitörü olan 10-6 M'lik bir bevacizumab konsantrasyonu ile karşılaştırıldı. Sonuçlar: 10-4 M apiksaban konsantrasyonunun, bevacizumabınkine benzer güçlü bir antianjiyogenik potansiyele sahip olduğunu bulduk. Bununla birlikte, daha düşük bir apiksaban dozunda (10-5 M, 10-6 M) orta düzeyde antianjiyogenik potansiyel vardı. Daha yüksek antianjiyogenik potansiyel dozlarının (10-4 M konsantrasyon) daha düşük dozlarda apiksaban (10-5 M, 10-6 M) ile karşılaştırılması, önemli istatistiksel farklılıklar ortaya çıkardı (p < 0.05). Sonuç: Sonuçlarımız, yüksek doz apiksaban'ın güçlü antianjiyogenik potansiyele sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu etkinin kesin mekanizması bilinmemektedir. Bu pilot sonuçlar, DOAK'lara yeni bir bakış elde etmek için daha ileri çalışmalarla doğrulanmalıdır.

Platelet-cytokine Complex Suppresses Tumour Growth by Exploiting Intratumoural Thrombin-dependent Platelet Aggregation

Tumours constitute unique microenvironments where various blood cells and factors are exposed as a result of leaky vasculature. In the present study, we report that thrombin enrichment in B16F10 melanoma led to platelet aggregation, and this property was exploited to administer an anticancer cytokine, interferon-gamma induced protein 10 (IP10), through the formation of a platelet-IP10 complex. When intravenously infused, the complex reached platelet microaggregates in the tumour. The responses induced by the complex were solely immune-mediated, and tumour cytotoxicity was not observed. The complex suppressed the growth of mouse melanoma in vivo, while both platelets and the complex suppressed the accumulation of FoxP3⁺ regulatory T cells in the tumour. These results demonstrated that thrombin-dependent platelet aggregation in B16F10 tumours defines platelets as a vector to deliver anticancer cytokines and provide specific treatment benefits.

Update on Edoxaban for the Prevention and Treatment of Thromboembolism: Clinical Applications Based on Current Evidence

Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and heparins have been utilized for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolism (arterial and venous) for decades. Targeting and inhibiting specific coagulation factors have led to new discoveries in the pharmacotherapy of thromboembolism management. These targeted anticoagulants are known as direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Two pharmacologically distinct classes of targeted agents are dabigatran etexilate (Direct Thrombin Inhibitor (DTI)) and rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban (direct oral factor Xa inhibitors (OFXaIs)). Emerging evidence from the clinical trials has shown that DOACs are noninferior to VKA or low-molecular-weight heparins in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolism. This review examines the role of edoxaban, a recently approved OFXaI, in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolism based on the available published literature. The management of edoxaban in the perioperative setting, reversibility in bleeding cases, its role in cancer patients, the relevance of drug-drug interactions, patient satisfaction, financial impacts, and patient education will be discussed.