Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The clinical course of three patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia receiving all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) as a single agent is reported. The first two patients were in first and second relapse of their leukemia that had occurred despite maintenance treatment with 13-cis retinoic acid after chemotherapy-induced complete remission (CR). A switch to ATRA was followed by achievement of a CR in two patients. The third patient received ATRA as first-line therapy. Two patients experienced thromboembolic complications during the phase of ATRA-induced leukocytosis. One of them died of pulmonary embolism on day 16 of treatment. The two responding patients who did not receive consolidation chemotherapy relapsed after 6 and 9 months, respectively. Increase of the ATRA dose failed to induce a new remission.
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PMID:Retinoic acid in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia: inefficacy of the 13-cis isomer and induction of complete remission by the all-trans isomer complicated by thromboembolic events. 163 80

We describe a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) who developed pulmonary embolism (PE) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) during remission induction all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) therapy. A 44-year-old man was diagnosed with APL and was treated with ATRA. On day 14, he developed PE, and on day 24, he developed TTP. Both PE and TTP occurred in association with leukocytosis due to ATRA administration. The PE responded to dexamethasone and TTP responded to plasma infusion. The PE and TTP remitted, and he achieved complete remission of APL. To our knowledge, there have been no reports of TTP occurring as a complication of ATRA therapy.
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PMID:Pulmonary embolism and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with all-trans retinoic acid. 1456 70

It is well known that solid cancers are associated with thromboembolic complications, but recent studies have shown that the incidence of thrombosis may be as high (or even higher) in patients with malignant haematological disorders. However, this may be obscured by the significant morbidity and mortality due to other complications of haematological malignancies, such as bleeding and infections. The vast majority of patients with haematological neoplasias also have clinically silent haemostatic abnormalities, but some may show clinical manifestations, including venous thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism, disseminated intravascular coagulation and life-threatening thrombohaemorrhagic syndrome in acute leukaemias. The pathogenesis of thromboembolic disease in haematological malignancies is complex and multifactorial: tumour cell-derived procoagulant, fibrinolytic or proteolytic factors and inflammatory cytokines affect clotting activation, and chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic drugs increase thrombotic risk in patients with lymphoma, acute leukaemia and multiple myeloma. Infectious complications are another important factor: endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria induce the release of tissue factor (TF), Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and interleukin-1b (IL-1b), and gram-positive organisms can release bacterial mucopolysaccharides that directly activate factor XII. Leukaemic patients may be affected by other prothrombotic factors, including hyperleukocytosis, increased TF expression and activation, and the prothrombotic properties of therapeutic agents such as all-trans retinoic acid and L-asparaginase, which can induce thrombosis involving multiple organs. The very high risk of haemorrhaging in these patients warrants prospective randomised trials evaluating optimal anti-thrombotic prophylaxis and treatment.
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PMID:Thromboembolic complications in malignant haematological disorders. 1948

Life-threatening bleeding is a major and early complication of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), but in the last years there is a growing evidence of thromboses in APL. We report the first case of a young woman with dyspnea as the first symptom of APL due to massive pulmonary embolism (PE) successfully treated with thrombolysis for PE and heparin. APL has been processed with a combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) obtaining complete remission.
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PMID:Massive Pulmonary Embolism at the Onset of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. 2741 20