Hypercoagulopathy induced by chemotherapy in a patient with lung cancer. A possible role for a factor with thrombosis-inducing activity (TIA).

We treated a patient with lung cancer in whom a hypercoagulopathy was induced acutely by chemotherapy. He received systemic chemotherapy twice and in both instances developed disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), accompanied by acute decrements of the peripheral platelet count and plasma fibrinogen, an increment of the fibrin degradation products (FDP), and bleeding tendency with the appearance of skin purpura. In each instance, the plasma thrombosis-inducing activity (TIA) appeared one to three days after chemotherapy and subsided subsequently.