ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07372716ACE-HIGHUpdated Sep 8, 2026

Safety of Perioperative Anticoagulation Management in People With Active Cancer Undergoing Cancer-Related Surgery or Procedures (ACE-HIGH Study)

An interventional study of standardized perioperative anticoagulation management Guideline in Thrombosis, Cancer and Thrombosis, Deep Vein, sponsored by Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-08.

Primary conditionVenous ThrombosisRegistry: ThrombosisReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Thrombosis — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Venous Thrombosis
Why
  1. The study's listed conditions name Venous Thrombosis, a narrower term within Thrombosis.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by Ottawa Hospital Research Institute · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started May 2026; still recruiting 6 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
700
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to help find how safe current practices are when managing blood thinners in people with cancer who are having surgery or medical procedures. Investigators will also measure how often bleeding or clotting problems happen in this setting. The goal is to use this information to improve future care and reduce these risks for patients. This study will determine whether contemporary practices can be safely applied to cancer patients, and also evaluate the blood thinner level left over in patient's body at the time of surgery.

02

Conditions studied

  • Thrombosis
  • Cancer
  • Thrombosis, Deep Vein
  • Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
  • Venous Thromboembolic Event
  • Bleeding

Keywords

  • thrombosis
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Cancer
  • Anticoagulant Interruption
  • VTE
  • bleeding
03

In context

Venous Thrombosis Reclassified

785 studies on the registry are indexed under Venous Thrombosis; 110 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 700 is above the median of 152 across 477 interventional studies indexed under Venous Thrombosis.

Browse Venous Thrombosis studies →

Lead sponsor

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is the lead sponsor of 547 studies on the registry; 99 are open to participants now.

Compared within Venous Thrombosis, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Thrombosis. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Prescribed a Direct Oral Anticoagulant (DOAC), warfarin ( (INR) target 2.0-3.0) or Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) (75-100% weight-based therapeutic dosing) for stroke prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (AF) or the treatment of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE). Eligible DOAC regimens include full-dose (therapeutic) DOAC regimens appropriate for age and renal function. Eligible DOAC regimens include:

    i. Apixaban 10 mg po BID (VTE) ii. Apixaban 5 mg po BID (AF or VTE) iii. Apixaban 2.5 mg po BID (AF) iv. Rivaroxaban 15 mg po BID (VTE) v. Rivaroxaban 20 mg po OD (AF or VTE) vi. Rivaroxaban 15 mg po OD (AF only) vii. Edoxaban 60 mg po OD (AF or VTE) viii. Edoxaban 30 mg po OD (AF or VTE) ix. Dabigatran 150 mg po BID (AF or VTE) x. Dabigatran 110 mg po BID (AF)

  • Has active cancer, defined as:

    i. cancer diagnosed within 6 months ii. recurrent, regionally advanced, or cancer iii. cancer for which treatment had been administered within 6 months before enrolment iv. hematologic cancer that is not in remission v. Patients who are felt to likely have active cancer based on clinical/imaging characteristics but are awaiting tissue confirmation and are scheduled for a procedure are eligible for trial inclusion

  • Is undergoing a planned cancer-related inpatient or outpatient invasive procedure or cancer surgery (to diagnose, treat or palliate cancer; at investigator's discretion)
  • Interruption of anticoagulation therapy for the planned procedure is required.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of any mechanical prosthetic heart valve
  • Known pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Severe renal insufficiency ( (CrCl) \< 30 mL/min or \< 25 mL/min for Apixaban users)
  • Condition that might impair adherence to the study protocol (e.g., cognitive impairment, geographic inaccessibility) as determined by the treating physician
  • Allergy to heparin or a history of (Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT)
  • More than one surgery/procedure planned during the study period
  • Previous study participation
  • Inability to provide
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

Biopsy and archival tissue

A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.

Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
700 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Other
    study intervention

    The intervention consists of applying perioperative anticoagulation management strategies based on contemporary guidelines for non-cancer patients to a cancer population undergoing invasive procedures or surgery. This study is a pragmatic, guideline-informed interventional study. It does not involve testing a novel drug, biologic, or device, and therefore does not align with clinical trial phases (Phase I-IV).

    Other: standardized perioperative anticoagulation management Guideline

Interventions

  • Otherstandardized perioperative anticoagulation management Guideline

    The intervention is implementing a standardized perioperative anticoagulation management strategy in patients with active cancer (and this strategy is consistent with guideline-directed care for patients with active cancer).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Major bleeding events

    Major bleeding is defined according to International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) criteria as any of the following within 30 days post-surgery: Fatal bleeding; OR Symptomatic bleeding in a critical area or organ (e.g., intracranial, intraspinal, intraocular, retroperitoneal, pericardial, non-operated joint, or intramuscular with compartment syndrome); OR Extrasurgical site bleeding causing ≥20 g/L hemoglobin drop or requiring ≥2 units of blood transfusion within 24-48 hours; OR Surgical site bleeding requiring re-intervention or causing delayed mobilization, prolonged hospitalization, or deep wound infection; OR Unexpected/prolonged surgical site bleeding causing hemodynamic instability with ≥20 g/L hemoglobin drop or transfusion of ≥2 units within 24 hours.

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study follow ups at 4 weeks"

Secondary outcomes

  1. 30-day combined risk of ATE (Arterial Thromboembolism ) /VTE (Venous Thromboembolism)

    Includes arterial or venous thromboembolic events: stroke, TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), systemic embolism, DVT (Deep Venous Thromboembolism), PE (Pulmonary Embolism), splanchnic vein thrombosis, or cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

    Time frame: 30 days

  2. 30-day risk of clinically relevant non-major bleeding (ISTH definition)

    Bleeding that does not meet major criteria but requires medical intervention, unscheduled contact with a physician, interruption of anticoagulation, or causes discomfort impacting daily activities.

    Time frame: 30 days

  3. 30-day risk of all-cause mortality

    Death from any cause within 30 days post-surgery

    Time frame: 30 days

  4. Time to resumption of anticoagulation (therapeutic dosing)

    Measured in hours from surgery to administration of therapeutic anticoagulant dose.

    Time frame: hours from surgery to administration of therapeutic anticoagulant dose.

  5. Pre-operative residual anticoagulant levels

    Measured at Visit #3 prior to surgery using drug-specific assays.

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

  6. Pre-operative thrombin generation assay (TGA) parameters

    Lag Time (in minutes)

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

  7. Pre-operative thrombin generation assay (TGA) parameters

    Time to Peak (in minutes)

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

  8. Pre-operative thrombin generation assay (TGA) parameters

    Peak thrombin generation (peak; in nM)

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

  9. Pre-operative thrombin generation assay (TGA) parameters

    Endogenous thrombin potential (ETP; in nM/min)

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

  10. Pre-operative thrombin generation assay (TGA) parameters

    Mean velocity rate index (mVRI; in nM/min).

    Time frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 8, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07372716
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 28, 2026
Start date
May 5, 2026
Primary completion
Dec 2030 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 8, 2026

Study contacts

Joseph Shaw, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Contact
josshaw@ohri.ca
613-737-8899 ext. 74630
Marc Carrier, MD
Contact
mcarrier@toh.ca
6137378899
Joseph Shaw, MD, MSc, FRCPC
principal investigator · Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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