Characteristics and Effect of Rivaroxaban on Venous Thromboembolism in Korean Patients Compared to Western Population: A Subgroup Analysis from XALIA(-LEA) Study

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the characteristics of venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) in Korean to Caucasian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: XALIA-LEA and XALIA were phase IV non-interventional prospective studies with identical designs that investigated the effect of rivaroxaban versus standard anticoagulation for VTE. Koreans accounted for the largest proportion of the overall enrolled population of XALIA-LEA. However, in the XALIA study, most patients were Caucasian. Therefore, Korean data from XALIA-LEA and Caucasian data from XALIA were used in this study. This study compared the clinical characteristics and primary outcomes of the XALIA program, including major bleeding, recurrent VTE, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The Korean population was older, was less obese, and had more active cancer at baseline than the Caucasian population. Provoked VTE was more common in the Korean population. Interestingly, Koreans showed less accompanying thrombophilia than Caucasians, and factor V Leiden mutations were not detected. Korean analyses comparing the effects of rivaroxaban and standard anticoagulation with primary outcomes showed a lower incidence of major bleeding, recurrent VTE, and all-cause mortality with rivaroxaban. Similar results were obtained in the propensity score matching analysis. CONCLUSION: Characteristic differences were found between Korean and Caucasian VTE patients. Despite these ethnic differences, the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban therapy in these patients were consistent.