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Malignancies in β ‐thalassemia patients: a single‐center experience and a concise review of the literature
Author(s) -
BENETATOS L.,
ALYMARA V.,
VASSOU A.,
BOURANTAS K. L.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of laboratory hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.705
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1751-553X
pISSN - 1751-5521
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-553x.2007.00929.x
Subject(s) - thalassemia , disease , cancer , medicine , hodgkin lymphoma , lymphoma , pathogenesis , immunology
Summary Thalassemia represents the world's most common monogenic disease, characterized by absence of or decreased globin chain production. The lifespan of thalassemia patients has been extended as a result of current supportive treatment. We report three cases of cancer (non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, and seminoma) in thalassemic patients. Factors that may contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer seem to be infections and iron overload through mechanisms of oxidative damage; immunomodulation or coexistence of the two diseases may only be coincidental.