Enoxaparin Versus Placebo for Venous Thromboembolism Prevention in Low Risk Cancer Patients After Surgical Procedures: a Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial Pilot Study

Post-surgical bleeding is a major source of morbidity in cancer patients, and ramifications can include need for transfusion, increased length of hospital stay, unexpected return to the operating room, or even death. Current guidelines support that all cancer patients who require surgical procedures receive post-operative blood thinners to minimize risk for blood clots in the legs or lungs, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), but these medications have an unfavorable risk/benefit relationship among patients at low risk for VTE. The proposed work will pilot a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial to critically examine the role of de-implementation of current guidelines that mandate blood thinning medications among cancer patients at low risk for VTE who require surgical procedures; the pilot trial will allow optimization of the design of a future pragmatic multicenter trial, which ultimately would maximize patient safety after surgical procedures for cancer.