ACUTE DISSEMINATED INTRAVASCULAR COAGULATION SYNDROME IN CANCER-PATIENTS

Hemostatic abnormalities are rather frequent in cancer patients either in hematological or in solid tumors. Acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIG) is a rare coagulopathy in cancer patients, but when it develops it becomes rapidly fatal. Between June 1988 and December 1992 we observed 8 cases of acute DIC occurring in gastric cancer (4 p atients), breast cancer (3 patients) and high-grade non-Hodgkin lympho ma (1 patient). In 3 patients affected by gastric carcinoma, acute DIC was the first manifestation of the presence of the tumor, while in th e other patients DIC occurred during the course of the disease. All th e patients were treated with heparin, fresh frozen plasma and platelet support, but only in 1 patient was a short duration improvement of cl inical conditions and coagulation tests recorded. Acute DIC can be the first manifestation of gastric tumors and the presence of the hemorrh agic syndrome associated with thrombocytopenia, hypofibrinogenemia and fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products should initiate a search for g astric carcinoma.