Abstract
An 11-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of a right hip tumor. The laboratory data showed mild anemia, mild thrombocytopenia, and elevated LDH. FDP and D-dimer were elevated, indicating the presence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The bone marrow aspiration showed hypocellular marrow with involvement of tumor cells and necrotic cells. A diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma was made by histological examination of the biopsy specimen of the right hip tumor. Inguinal lymph nodes were involved with tumor cells. He developed rapidly severe DIC after the administration of vincristine and actinomycin D. Heparin, gabexate mesilate, and fresh frozen plasma were given, but they failed to control DIC. He was given all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) 40 mg per day orally after informed consent. Fibrinogen markedly increased, and bleeding tendency improved. Our results indicate that ATRA therapy seems to be useful for DIC in malignant disease.
