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New study links kidney cancer to increased risk of dangerous blood clotting


April 22, 2014

Dr. Marc Carrier has published a study in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis that identifies an increased risk of developing dangerous blood clotting in the veins (venous thromboembolism, or VTE) of people who have had surgery for kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) but whose tumours could not be fully removed because of spread to the veins (tumour thrombus). In the first study of its kind, Dr. Carrier and his team found that such patients are eight times more likely to develop VTE than cancer patients whose tumor did not move to the veins. These findings suggest that these cancer patients with residual tumor thrombus may benefit from drugs that reduce blood clotting as a way to prevent VTE.

Funders: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and The University of Ottawa

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