Administration of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been approved to treat and prevent thrombotic events. However, they are not yet labeled for use in patients with active cancers. Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal chronic disorders with a high incidence of thrombotic events, for which low-dose aspirin (LDA) is the standard drug treatment. We analyzed efficacy and safety of DOACs prescription in patients treated for MPNs. An MPN database, the OBENE registry, was established at our institution. We collected biological and clinical data from diagnosis to last follow-up for every patient included in this study. Thrombotic and hemorrhagic events and hematologic evolutions were categorized as major events in the database. Of the 760 MPN patients in the OBENE registry, 25 (3.3%) were treated with a DOAC. Median follow-up duration was 2.1 years (0.12–4.3 years). The reasons for prescribing DOACs were atrial fibrillation and thrombotic events for 13 and 12 patients, respectively. We only observed one thrombotic event (4%) and three major hemorrhagic events (12%). A case–control study did not detect a significant difference in thrombotic or hemorrhagic events in patients treated with LDA and DOACs. These preliminary results suggest that DOACs may be highly efficient and safe for use in MPN patients.