Overview of cancer and thrombosis

Abstract

Historically, the French physician and scientist Armand Trousseau (1801-1867) has been honored as the first scientist to report the association between malignant disorders and thromboembolism [1]. In 1861, in his book Clinique medicale de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, he postulated that most patients with cachexia and thrombosis have undiagnosed cancer. A few years after his observation Trousseau noted thrombophlebitis of his left upper arm and a few months later he succumbed to gastric cancer. © 2009 Springer-Verlag US.