"Bringing on the light" in a complex clinical scenario: Optical coherence tomography-guided discontinuation of antiplatelet therapy in cancer patients with coronary artery disease (PROTECT-OCT registry).

Background: Cancer patients with recently placed drug-eluting stents (DESs) often require premature dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) discontinuation for cancer-related procedures. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can identify risk factors for stent thrombosis such as stent malapposition, incomplete strut coverage and in-stent restenosis and may help guide discontinuation of DAPT.

Methods: We conducted a single-center prospective study in cancer patients with recently placed (1-12 months) DES who required premature DAPT discontinuation.