[Mitomycin C associated hemolytic uremic syndrome--a case report and review of the Japanese cases].

A 36-year-old man who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) associated with mitomycin C (MMC) after the radical operation for early gastric cancer was reported. He was successfully treated with hemodialysis and transfusion of fresh frozen plasma. However, the pathogenesis and the effective treatment of this syndrome are still undetermined. The literature on MMC-induced HUS in Japan was reviewed, and the relationship between the prognosis and the patients conditions, such as sex, age, site of primary cancer, total dose of MMC, latent period from MMC administration, laboratory findings at the time of diagnosis and treatment with steroids or plasma exchange, were analysed. Patients less than 60 years old or treated with plasma exchange were found to be associated significantly with a favorable outcome. The most frequent cause of death was pulmonary edema or respiratory failure. In conclusion, early treatment with plasma exchange appeared to result in a better prognosis.