Effect of Non-vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Newly Diagnosed Cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are limited data on the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with cancer. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of NOACs in AF patients with cancer in this study. METHODS: In 2,568 consecutive non-valvular AF patients with newly diagnosed cancer, we analyzed ischemic stroke/systemic embolism (SE), major bleeding, and all-cause death. Based on propensity score matching, 388 matched pairs were included in the NOAC and warfarin groups. RESULTS: Patient baseline characteristics were comparable between the matched groups. During median follow-up of 1.8 years, the NOAC group had significantly lower incidences of ischemic stroke/SE (p<0.001), major bleeding (p<0.001), and all-cause death (p