Gynecological malignancies and disseminated intravascular coagulation

The importance of DIC in the management of gynecological malignancy, especially in advanced cases, was stressed on the basis of our experience with 8 cases. The overall incidence of DIC in our series of 366 cases of gynecological malignancies was 2.2%. However, DIC was experienced only in cases of advanced later stages and the recurrence of malignancy, and the incidence of DIC in these two groups were 2.2% and 7.2% respectively. In our 8 cases, DIC seemed to be provoked or worsened by antitumoric chemotherapy, major surgery, radiation therapy, infection, cerebral infarction and massive packed red cell transfusion. At the same time, an exceptional case of fulminating DIC which had probably been provoked by packed red cell transfusion in a patient with advanced but not detected endometrial cancer which developed in a endometriotic uterus was presented.