Paraneoplastic production of heparin-like anticoagulant in a patient with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma.

It has been reported that patients with bladder cancer have widely varying paraneoplastic consequences, including metabolic, dermatologic, myopathic and neurologic disturbances. We report a case of a 52-year-old man with advanced transitional cell carcinoma and liver metastases, who developed a severe coagulopathy following robotic radical cystoprostatectomy due to circulating heparin-like substances prior to onset of liver failure. Heparin-like anticoagulant production is a rare paraneoplastic effect documented in concert with transitional cell carcinoma, breast carcinoma and hematological malignancies.