Reduction of leukemia cell growth in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated by retinol palmitate.
A 67-year-old woman with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) showed a marked decrease in leukemic promyelocytes with concomitant maturation of leukemic cells during treatment with retinol palmitate. A culture study in vitro revealed that retinol, which is the main metabolite of retinol palmitate detected in plasma, induced morphological and functional maturation of leukemic promyelocytes. These findings may indicate that retinol palmitate induces cell differentiation and slows proliferation of leukemic cells in vivo, and that the reduction in cell growth is the key phenomenon in the clearing of leukemic cells, rather than the maturation phenomenon itself.
Tsutani
H
H
First Department of Internal Medicine, Fukui Medical School, Japan.
Iwasaki
H
H
Kawai
Y
Y
Tanaka
T
T
Ueda
T
T
Uchida
M
M
Nakamura
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004224:Diterpenes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000084562:Retinyl Esters; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004224:Diterpenes; D000084562:Retinyl Esters; D014801:Vitamin A; C014794:retinol palmitate