Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in metastatic carcinoma of the breast

We present a case of a 52-year-old woman with thrombotic thrombocytopenic p urpura associated with progressive metastatic adenocarcinoma of the breast. The patient received plasma exchange therapy. Thrombocytopenic purpura res olved 2 months after discontinuation of plasma exchange while the patient r eceived chemotherapy. After 3 more months, a fulminant relapse of the throm bocytopenic purpura developed, and there were signs of tumor progression. S he died despite adequate treatment. We conclude that effective treatment of the underlying tumor can be crucial to control cancer-associated thrombocy topenic purpura.