Rivaroxaban in the Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) in Cancer Patients

Inclusion Criteria:

* Newly diagnosed and objectively confirmed acute venous thromboembolism
* Active malignancy
* Life expectancy of at least 6 months
* Performance-Status according to Karnofsky Performance Scale ≥ 70 %
* Patient's compliance and geographical situation allowing an adequate follow up
* platelets ≥ 100.000 /μl, INR \< 1.5, PTT \< 40 sec.
* written informed consent of the patient prior to any procedure in connection with the study
* male and female patients with an age of at least 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* therapeutic anticoagulation \> 96 hours prior to study treatment
* known allergic reactions against the study drugs or the substances included therein
* known conditions associated with high risk of bleeding, known history of hemorrhagic diathesis
* acute clinically relevant bleeding in the last 2 weeks
* any history of spontaneous major/cerebral bleeding
* history of heparin induced thrombocytopenia II
* pregnant or breast-feeding women. Women of child-bearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test performed \< 7 days prior to start of the treatment
* severe renal insufficiency (GFR \< 30 ml/min)
* liver disease with coagulation impairment, including Child B and C
* cirrhosis
* acute medical illness
* treatment of the underlying cancer with experimental therapies