[Coagulation disorders in prostatic carcinoma (author's transl)]

70 nonselcted patients with prostatic carcinoma underwent coagulation analysis. Sxi had typical evidence of diffuse intravascular coagulation and in 8 cases such a disorder was highly probable. In 3 patients coagulation alterations appeared only after estrogen treatment, 17 patients (24.3%) thus showed evidence of intravascular coagulation. The hemostatic distrubance was silent in all but 3 cases where bleeding occurred. Coagulation disorders were found mainly in advanced stages and poorly differentiated carcinomas. There was a much higher content of thromboplastic activity in prostatic carcinoma than in normal prostatic tissue. Heparin plays a predominant role in the treatment of the coagulation disorder. In addition to therapy of clinically maifest consuption coagulopathy heparin can be used in prophylaxis against bleeding and thrombosis in cases with clinically silent intravascular coagulation and also in estrogen treatment.