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Kefah Mokbel: Beyond Thromboprophylaxis – Enoxaparin’s Emerging Anticancer Signal
Jul 21, 2026, 13:00

Kefah Mokbel: Beyond Thromboprophylaxis – Enoxaparin’s Emerging Anticancer Signal

Kefah Mokbel, Professor of Medicine (Honorary) at Cardiff University School of Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article by Sedat Carkit et al., published in Scientific Reports, adding:

“Beyond Thromboprophylaxis: Enoxaparin’s Emerging Anticancer Signal

A new study in Scientific Reports adds to the growing evidence that enoxaparin – long used simply to manage cancer-associated thrombosis – may have direct effects on tumour biology.

Using MDA-MB-231 (breast) and HepG2 (liver) cancer cell lines alongside non-cancerous HEK-293 controls, the authors treated cells with a range of enoxaparin concentrations and found:

  • Significantly reduced viability in both cancer cell lines, with no cytotoxicity in normal cells
  • Markedly increased apoptosis on TUNEL analysis
  • Increased LC3/p62 expression, indicating activation of autophagy
  • Differential inflammatory modulation – NF-κB rose in breast cancer cells alongside suppression of IL-6 and TNF-α, while liver cancer cells showed no significant inflammatory change
  • Reduced extracellular 8-OHdG, suggesting less oxidative DNA damage

The selectivity – hitting cancer cells while sparing normal cells – is what makes this interesting. It’s in-vitro work, so it doesn’t change clinical practice today, but it strengthens the rationale for exploring enoxaparin’s role beyond thromboprophylaxis in oncology.”

Title: Enoxaparin induces apoptosis and autophagy, modulates inflammatory signaling, and reduces oxidative DNA damage in breast and liver cancer cells

Authors: Sedat Carkit, Münevver Baran, Nazmiye Bitgen, Gozde Ozge Onder, Damla Gündüz, Arzu Yay

Kefah Mokbel: Beyond Thromboprophylaxis - Enoxaparin's Emerging Anticancer Signal

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