New Guidelines on Venous Thromboembolism in Cancer Patients

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has released new guidelines for prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients. The guidelines come in the face of a 35% increase in cancer-associated VTE from 1995 to 2002.
Published early online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the guidelines recommend the following:
All hospitalized cancer patients should be considered for prophylaxis against VTE, in the absence of bleeding or other contraindications.
Prophylaxis is not recommended for ambulatory patients unless they are under treatment for multiple myeloma with thalidomide or lenalidomide.
Patients undergoing major surgery should be considered for prophylaxis, as well as those undergoing minor surgical procedures lasting longer than 30 minutes. (Prophylaxis should continue for roughly a week, and in high-risk patients after major surgery, it should continue for up to 4 weeks.)
Low-molecular-weight heparin is the preferred agent for treating VTE.