Successful treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura-like syndrome in a cancer patient with low-dose interferon: case report and review of the literature.
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)-like syndrome is a rare complication of carcinomas, and its treatment usually precedes cancer therapy in order to make further procedures safe. We describe the case of a 78-year-old man with a small-cell lung cancer of extended stage, associated with ITP-like syndrome, which proved resistant to treatment with corticosteroids and vincristine, short-responsive to IV immunoglobulin, but quickly and steadily responsive to low-dose interferon (ld IFN, 3 million IU, sc, twice weekly, for 8 weeks), until the patient's death, due to his primarily chemoresistant cancer. This case is, to our knowledge, the second reported ITP-like syndrome in a cancer patient who had been successfully treated with ld IFN. The excellent and cost-effective therapeutic index of ld IFN makes it an attractive alternative treatment in patients with this specific complication and calls for further investigation regarding its potential use as a first-line treatment.
Medical Oncology Unit, Venizeleio-Pananeio G.H., Herakleio, Crete, Greece. tsoussis@hygeianet.gr
Sophocles
S
Tsoussis
Fotini
F
Ekonomidou
Erene
E
Vourliotaki
Ioannis
I
Karalis
Alkiviades
A
Dermitzakis
D000368:Aged; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004351:Drug Resistance; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010976:Platelet Count; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012074:Remission Induction; D014750:Vincristine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014750:Vincristine; D016572:Cyclosporine; D011239:Prednisolone