Chemotherapy-induced thrombosis: a role for microparticles and tissue factor?

Chemotherapy is an independent risk factor of thromboembolic events in cancer patients. Various pathogenetic mechanisms have been hypothesized in the past, but until now their individual contribution to the risk of thrombosis has been hardly investigated in clinical trials. In recent years, studies increasingly suggested an association between the prothrombotic state in cancer patients and circulating tissue factor-exposing microparticles. In this review, we discuss the roles of tissue factor and microparticles with regard to chemotherapy-induced hypercoagulability.