Oncologic Emergencies

Oncologic emergencies represent acute, life-threatening events related to a patient’s cancer or cancer treatment. Hematologic (disseminated intravascular coagulation
(DIC), anemia, thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia), metabolic (tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), hypercalcemia), urological (acute renal failure, ureteral or urethral obstruction), bone-related (hypertrophic osteopathy, pathologic fracture), cardiac (pericardial effusion, tamponade), and other emergencies (eg, anaphylaxis, extravasation injury) pose unique and critical challenges in the small animal cancer patient, and should be diagnosed and treated imminently if death is to be avoided. The pathophysiology of oncologic emergencies, as well as a systematic approach to recognition and management of these scenarios and their differential diagnoses, will be reviewed.