Recognition and treatment of oncologic emergencies.
An oncologic emergency is a clinical condition resulting from a structural or metabolic change caused by cancer or its treatment that requires immediate medical intervention to prevent loss of life or quality of life. Five oncologic emergencies (septic shock, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone, tumor lysis syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and spinal cord compression) are defined and described physiologically and clinically. Also, appropriate treatment of each oncologic emergency is discussed.