Cisplatin triggers platelet activation

Clinical observations suggest that anticancer drugs could contribute to the thrombotic complications of malignancy in treated patients. Thrombotic mic roangiopathy, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular thrombotic events have been reported for cisplatin, a drug widely used in the treatment of ma ny solid tumours. The aim of this study is to explore in vitro cisplatin ef fect on human platelet reactivity in order to define the potentially active role of platelets in the pathogenesis of cisplatin-induced thrombotic comp lications. Our results demonstrate that cisplatin increases human platelet reactivity (onset of platelet aggregation wave and thromboxane production) to non-aggregating concentrations of the agonists involving arachidonic aci d metabolism. Direct or indirect activation of platelet phospholipase A(2) appears to be implicated. This finding contributes to a better understandin g of the pathogenesis of thrombotic complications occurring during cisplati n-based chemotherapy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.