Dr. Young on Using Vitamin K Antagonists in Children With Cancer

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses using vitamin-K antagonists in children with cancer.

In the United States, the vitamin-K antagonist that is widely used is warfarin (Coumadin). Warfarin is difficult to use in children being treated for cancer due to its numerous drug-drug interactions.

The other problem with vitamin-K antagonists is that they have a long half-life, says Young. If a child with cancer is on a vitamin-K antagonist and needs an unexpected procedure, managing the surgical procedure may be difficult as it takes a long time to reverse this anti-coagulant.