[Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in Hodgkin's disease--an early sign of a recurrence (author's transl)].

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in the course of Hodgkin's disease is generally judged to be a paraneoplastic immune phenomenon. This concept finds support in the observation of a patient who developed simultaneously a recurrence of ITP and a protein anomaly in the form of an alpha-chain protein. Combined chemotherapy brought about remission of the Hodgkin's disease at the same time as normalisation of the platelet values and disappearance of the alpha-chain protein. There is no necessary correlation between tumour activity and ITP. But if ITP is observed, the most effective means would seem to be rigorous treatment of the Hodgkin's disease.