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Chemotherapy-induced Vascular Toxicity - Real-time In vivo Imaging of Vessel Impairment
Published on: January 7, 2015
[Three cases of fatal thrombocytopenia after oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy]
Hiroki Osumi1, Eiji Shinozaki, Yosuke Kumekawa
1Division of Gastrointestinal oncology, Cancer Institute Hospital.
Abstract:
Oxaliplatin is a platinum salt that is particularly effective for treating gastrointestinal tumors. However, some reports state that oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy triggers fatal thrombocytopenia. Myelosuppression is recognized as the main cause of oxaliplatin-related thrombocytopenia, and other mechanisms for this side effect have been suggested, including splenic sequestration of platelets related to oxaliplatin-induced liver damage and immune thrombocytopenia. Other causes of thrombocytopenia such as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and pseudothrombocytopenia should also be considered. We encountered 3 patients who developed fatal thrombocytopenia after oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy and describe the differential diagnosis of fatal thrombocytopenia here.
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