Breast cancer-related thrombotic microangiopathy: A review

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Breast cancer-related thrombotic microangiopathy: A review Via Association française pour l'étude du cancer Bull Cancer. 2021 May 26:S0007-4551(21)00183-1. doi: 10.1016/j.bulcan.2021.03.017. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Thrombotic Microangiopathies (TM) have been described since the 1960s. They are characterized by presence of mechanical haemolytic anemia associated with peripheral thrombocytopenia. TM in cancer can be related to several causes, whose cancer himself: cancer-related microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA). Incidence of cancer related MAHA remains unknown. Cancer-related MAHA are mainly observed in mucin-producer adenocarcinomas, such as gastric (half of reported cases) and breast cancer. We conducted a review of all original published cases of TM reported in breast cancer, and we specifically investigated BC-MAHA cases. A Medline search identified 158 MAHA cases including 118 BC-MAHA, and 40 drug-related MAHA. Most of BC-MAHA occur in disseminated cancers, mainly with medullar involvement, and/or bone metastasis. Patien ts typically suffer from poor general state, bone pain, and/or dyspnea. Laboratory abnormalities such as myelemia or erythromyelemia in peripheral blood are frequently observed. Incidence of coagulation disorders is increased, compared to other MAHA causes. BC-MAHA prognosis is dramatically poor. Treatments classically used in other MAHA causes, such as plasmapheresis or immunoglobulins, are inefficient. Urgent anti-neoplastic therapy may be the only effective treatment, associated to symptomatic therapies (transfusions, blood pressure control). PMID:34052032 | DOI:10.1016/j.bulcan.2021. 03.017 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.