Abstract: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the common complications of cancer and the second cause of death in cancer patients. Low molecular weight heparin(LMWH) is the standard of care but the high cost and the inconvenience of daily injections have led to low persistence with therapy. New oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have recently emerged as a new therapeutic option due to the ease of administration, especially compared to warfarin. The patients do not have to do laboratory monitoring for NOACs and there is less food or drug interactions. Several large randomized clinical trials have been performed and indicated that specific NOACs are more effective in the treatment of cancer-associated VTE compared with LMWH, but might increase the risk of bleeding. In some kinds of tumors, NOACs will be the reasonable alternative agents in the management of cancer-associated VTE. This review summarizes the current evidences for NOACs in the prevention and treatment of CAT, and there are ongoing studies providing more evidences for NOACs in CAT as well.

Key words: venous thromboembolism, cancer associated thrombosis, low molecular weight heparin, novel oral anticoagulants