Acquired immune-mediated thrombophilia in lymphoproliferative disorders

We analyzed 66 cases of immune-mediated thrombophilia in patients with lymphoma reported in the literature. Sixty-one cases had a lupus anticoagulant, three an antibody to protein S, one to protein C, and one to ADAMTS 13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13). Lupus anticoagulants occurred in all histological subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, except mantle cell lymphoma, MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) lymphoma, and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, and rarely in Hodgkin lymphoma. The largest number of cases was described in splenic marginal zone and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. Lupus anticoagulants were highly associated with immunoglobulin M (IgM) paraproteinemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and immune thrombocytopenia. About half of the patients had thrombotic events (antiphospholipid antibody syndrome). Venous thromboembolism was more than twice as common as arterial thrombosis; 6.5% had a catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. The lupus anticoagulant could be eliminated by lymphoma treatment (chemoimmunotherapy or splenectomy) in more than one-third of patients. It is suggested that a search for lupus anticoagulant should be done in all patients with lymphoma, because a diagnosis of lupus anticoagulant may influence the management of lymphomas in some patients.