Coincidence of Malignancy and Congenital Thrombophilia as the Cause of Deep Venous Thrombosis - Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Introduction: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT, phlebothrombosis) is a very important clinical problem with its resultant fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) as one of the possible consequences. Factor V Leiden (FV Leiden) is a genetic disorder characterized by a poor anticoagulant response to activated protein C (APC) and an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Homozygous carriers of the FV Leiden mutation are estimated to have an 80-fold increased lifetime relative risk of VTE. Most homozygous carriers present with VTE before 40 years of age, but some can live thrombosis-free until the sixth or seventh decade of life or even remain asymptomatic for life. Case-controlled studies of patients with cancer revealed a four-fold increase in thromboembolic occurrence in acute leukaemia, with the risk of thrombosis persisting even after remission of the disease.

Keywords

• deep venous thrombosis
• venous thromboembolism
• factor v leiden
• acute myeloid leukaemia