ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the general view that hemostasis and malignancy possess multiple and important connections. As a practical consequence of this intimate relationship, the use of antiplatelet agents and anticoagulant drugs in the inhibition of tumors in the experimental animals and in the treatment of human malignancy was the subject of several reviews. The involvement of the three plasma proteins, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, and fibronectin, in the adhesive reactions of platelets during the hemostatic response is well established. Hyperfibrino(geno)lysis as a primary event is relatively rare in malignancy. Primary fibrinolysis or a continuous thrombolytic state may be pronounced in sarcomas, and in prostatic and gastric carcinomas, and it may be of benefit in impeding fibrin formation and tumor metastasis. Numerous clinical and experimental studies indicate a role for hemostatic components, first of all fibrin and platelets in tumor growth and metastasis formation.
