PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and bone marrow necrosis as the initial presentation of lung cancer (Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2007 Oct;13(4):449-52). Authors are Sevinc A Kalender ME Pehlivan Y et al., from the Department of Medical Oncology, Gaziantep University, School of Medicine, Gaziantep Oncology Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a disseminated form of thrombotic microangiopathy. Although most cases are held to be idiopathic, its association with malignancy is well recognized, and it usually occurs at the terminal stage of cancer. Bone marrow necrosis (BMN) is another rare disorder defined pathologically as the necrosis of myeloid tissue and medullary stroma with preservation of bone. Although hematologic malignancy is the most common underlying disease associated with BMN, it can also be caused by solid tumors. The occurrence of TTP with BMN associated with lung cancer has not been reported in the English literature. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.
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