ABSTRACT
At present, there are no evidence-based guidelines with regard to the duration of anticoagulant therapy in the cancer population. The traditional 3-month course following VTE may be acceptable only when the risk factors behind the thrombotic event are transient, as in trauma or general surgical patients. In patients with idiopathic DVT or PE, treatment shorter then 6 months has been associated with an increased risk of recurrence, and it must be taken into account that idiopathic VTE can be the first manifestation of occult malignancy.7,56,60 In fact, two large studies found the incidence of cancer in patients with idiopathic VTE to be 1.3 times and 3.2 times higher among the Danish and Swedish populations respectively.61,62
