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Bleeding and Thrombosis in a Cancer Patient

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Nonmalignant Hematology

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Abstract

Patients with cancer have an increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) that is well documented, due to a variety of factors including tumor-induced hypercoagulability that varies by tumor type, stasis and vascular compression by tumor, and therapies used to treat the underlying malignancy. Advances in cancer detection and treatment have improved survival, even if patients are not cured, so that cancer in many patients can be viewed as a chronic disease, allowing patients to live longer but also develop complications. In addition to VTE, these complications can include an increased bleeding risk related to both tumor and treatments. Managing the competing risks of thrombosis and bleeding can be difficult in any patient and even more so in the cancer patient. Data regarding specific management is not always available, as each patient can present a unique combination of bleeding and thrombotic risks, and treatment must often be tailored to accommodate these individual risks. In the cases below, we review common clinical situations and discuss management strategies, with data to support these strategies when available.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hematology Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, MGH, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Annemarie E. Fogerty MD

  2. Hematology Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, BWH, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Jean M. Connors MD

Authors
  1. Annemarie E. Fogerty MD
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  2. Jean M. Connors MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annemarie E. Fogerty MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantion, Zion, Illinois, USA

    Syed A. Abutalib

  2. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Jean M. Connors

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Margaret V. Ragni

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Fogerty, A.E., Connors, J.M. (2016). Bleeding and Thrombosis in a Cancer Patient. In: Abutalib, S., Connors, J., Ragni, M. (eds) Nonmalignant Hematology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30352-9_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30352-9_35

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30350-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30352-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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