A case of Trousseau's syndrome associated with lung cancer

The association between hypercoagulability and malignant disease was first described by Armand Trousseau in 1865. According to Trousseau, the thrombophlebitis was usually migratory and recurrent and involved both venous and arterial system. Thrombosis remains the hallmark of Trousseau's syndrome, although a wide variety of coagulation disorders including disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), pulmonary embolism, thrombotic endocarditis, and bleeding have been associated with the syndrome. Since then, abnormalities of the coagulation system have been repeatedly demonstrated in patients with cancer. Pancreatic carcinoma is thought to carry the highest risk of Trousseau's syndrome although the number of cases of Trousseau's syndrome is actually higher in patients with lung cancer because of the greater prevalence of this tumor. We report a thirty-five-year-old male patient with Trousseau's syndrome associated with lung cancer initially presenting deep vein thrombosis.