Pharmacological reviews
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Pharmacological reviews · Mar 2001
ReviewThe complex effects of heparins on cancer progression and metastasis in experimental studies.
Patients with cancer are frequently treated with anticoagulants, including heparins, to treat or to prevent thrombosis. Recent randomized trials that compared low molecular weight heparin to unfractionated heparin for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis have indicated that heparins affect survival of patients with cancer. Experimental studies support the hypothesis that cancer progression can be influenced by heparins, but results of these studies are not conclusive. ⋯ It is shown that heparins can affect proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells in various ways and that heparins can interfere with adherence of cancer cells to vascular endothelium. Moreover, heparins can affect the immune system and have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on angiogenesis. Because of the wide variety of activities of heparins, it is concluded that the ultimate effect of heparin treatment on cancer progression is uncertain.