Hemolytic uremic syndrome following cisplatin, bleomycin, and vincristine chemotherapy: a report of a case and a review of the literature.

This report describes a patient who developed the hemolytic uremic syndrome while undergoing chemotherapy with cisplatin, bleomycin, and vincristine, for metastatic squamous cell cancer of the floor of the mouth. In spite of dialysis and plasmapheresis, the patient died. This complication has rarely been reported in association with cisplatin, bleomycin, or vincristine therapy. The etiology of this syndrome is uncertain but may be related to scleroderma-like endothelial injury and vasospasm caused by bleomycin combination chemotherapy. It is notable that the development of the hemolytic uremic syndrome in conjunction with this combination of agents has been fatal in all patients over the age of 50 with squamous cell cancers.