ABSTRACT
Blood coagulation disturbances as a paraneoplastic syndrome were recognized more than 100 years ago. Both hemorrhagic and thromboembolic complications occur in various malignancies, but their manifestation depends to a great extent on the type and stage of the disease. Deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism often precedes the clinical manifestation of a solid tumor. Diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC) occurs with relatively high frequency in various malignancies. There are few data available on hemostatic alterations in lymphomas. The widespread application of combined chemotherapy markedly influenced the prognosis of tumors, especially of some lymphomas. The provoking factors for DIC were antitumor therapy, surgery, radiotherapy, infections, and blood transfusion. Tumors are sometimes accompanied by the decrease of activity of certain clotting factors, e.g., an acquired FIX inhibitor was found in adenocarcinoma of the colon, which disappeared after surgery and prednisone.
