Vascular toxicity and the mechanism underlying Raynaud's phenomenon in patients treated with cisplatin, vinblastine and bleomycin.

The vascular toxicity and the mechanism of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) were investigated in 32 patients treated with cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin. Sixteen patients had RP and sixteen patients were without finger symptoms. The results were compared with values obtained in 10 male controls. The following postural vasomotor functions were measured: (a) the vasomuscular, non-neurogenic autoregulation, tested by 133xenon flow during elevation of the finger 20 cm; (b) the local veno-arteriolar vasoconstrictor axon reflex, tested similarly by lowering the finger 40 cm; and (c) the central sympathetic vasoconstrictor reflex elicited by central baroreceptors and tested by changing the body posture from supine to sitting upright. The central sympathetic vasoconstrictor reflex was significantly increased in the group of patients with RP and/or cold provocation test positive (n = 16) when compared with the control group (p less than 0.05), and normal in patients without RP (n = 16). The local axon reflex functioned normally, whereas the autoregulation was impaired in both groups of patients compared with the control group (p less than 0.05). The results indicate a hyper-reactivity in the central sympathetic nervous system of the patients with RP, which also may explain their attacks of white fingers. The impaired autoregulation indicates a reduced function of the smooth muscle cells in the terminal arterioles, whereas the greater arterioles seem unaffected, as evidenced by the normal local axon reflex.