[Cancer-associated coagulation disorders]

Diagnosis and treatment of paraneoplastic coagulation disorders are a challenge in daily practice. While prophylactic anticoagulation to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) is standard of care in all surgical and acutely ill medical cancer patients, particularly careful evaluation of risks and benefits using validated risk assessment models is required during outpatient chemotherapy. Low-molecular-weight heparin and direct oral factor Xa inhibitors are available to treat established cancer-associated VTE, adhering to algorithms for bleeding risk stratification. In patients with overt disseminated intravascular coagulation, therapeutic measures should strictly follow clinical symptoms. An acquired von Willebrand syndrome may evoke a severe bleeding tendency in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms or plasma cell dyscrasias. In 15% of cases, acquired hemophilia A, due to the formation of inhibitory autoantibodies against coagulation factor VIII, is associated with malignancy.