Summary

Purpose: To analyze the association between solid tumors and theoccurrence of factor VIII antibodies and the response to treatment.Patients and Methods: Published case reports describing theassociation of a solid tumor and a factor VIII antibody retrieved from20 data bases. 40 cases were reported and 27 cases were analyzable.Results: Factor VIII antibodies occurred in a close temporal relationshipwith the detection of the tumor in most cases. No associationwith a specific type of tumor could be identified. Immune suppressivetreatment with prednisone ± cyclophosphamide was successful in themajority of cases.Conclusion: It is likely that there is a causal association betweensome solid tumors and factor VIII antibodies, but it is an extremelyrare complication of cancer. The immunoglobuline nature of the inhibitorand the good response to immune suppressive treatment suggeststhat it is an autoimmune phenomenon. The pathogenesis is unknown.