Is it true that warfarin protects people from cancer?
There is not enough evidence to say that this is true. However, there is some evidence that this may be true. Schulman and Lindmarker published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine about people who had a blood clot, of unknown origin, in their leg. Those who took warfarin for 6 months were less likely to develop cancer than those who took warfarin for 6 weeks. But the study was not designed to look for cancer, so it is not entirely clear that this is a valid finding. In the same issue of the Journal, Zielinski and Henja had an editorial on the same topic. They point out that people who have a blood clot, of unknown origin, in the leg have a high risk of having cancer diagnosed within the next year. Therefore, this lower incidence of cancer with longer-duration of warfarin therapy may have some significance. Right now there is not enough evidence to justify giving warfarin just to prevent cancer. References: Schulman S, Lindmarker P. Incidence of Cancer after Prophylaxis Ag
