Open AccessNeutropenic Colitis as a Complication of High-dose Chemotherapy for Refractory Testicular Cancer
Author(s) -
Koji Kawai,
Seiki Imada,
Katsuyuki Iida,
Shigeki Tsukamoto,
Naoto Miyanaga,
Hideyuki Akaza
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
japanese journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.768
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1465-3621
pISSN - 0368-2811
DOI - 10.1093/jjco/28.9.571
Subject(s) - medicine , complication , chemotherapy , hemorrhagic cystitis , surgery , disseminated intravascular coagulation , etoposide , gastroenterology , cyclophosphamide
A 44-year-old man received high-dose chemotherapy with carboplatin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide followed by autologous peripheral-blood stem-cell transplantation for treatment of refractory nonseminomatous testicular cancer (seminoma plus choriocarcinoma). The patient developed fever, watery diarrhea and abdominal pain at 10 days after the initiation of high-dose chemotherapy. Radiological examinations revealed adynamic ileus with thickened colon and small bowel wall and increasing ascites over the next 3 days. The patient subsequently suffered from disseminated intravascular coagulation, renal failure and hyperbilirubinemia despite systemic antibiotic therapy. Intensive medical care could barely avoid the fatal outcome. Neutropenic colitis has been recognized as a complication of acute leukemia or aplastic anemia. The present case indicates that this serious gastrointestinal complication can occur under profound neutropenic conditions induced by intensive chemotherapy for solid cancer.