Reduction of dithizone-reactive granules of blood granulocytes in humans and rats bearing tumor.
To confirm scattered reports suggesting a significant reduction of dithizone-reactive granules of granulocytes in neoplastic diseases, the peripheral blood of 20 normal adults, 22 patients with non-malignant diseases, and 39 cancer patients were studied by using a modified dithizone staining method and scoring of the stained granules. The dithizone score in the cancer patients was significantly (p less than 0.001) lower than those in the normal controls or the noncancer patients, with mean scores of 226.0 +/- 6.3 (S.E.), 277.5 +/- 4.7, and 265.9 +/- 5.8, respectively. When compared with the lower limit (score 233) of the 95% confidence interval of a normal score distribution, 24 (61.5%) of the 39 cancer patients showed abnormally low scores, and one (2.4%) of the 42 individuals without cancer exhibited a low score (p less than 0.001). No relationship was found between the score and the patient's age, total serum protein, serum globulin, serum albumin, albumin/globulin ratio, absolute numbers of neutrophils or lymphocytes, or serum zinc level. In the rats transplanted with syngeneic tumor, the dithizone score progressively declined as the tumor increased in size, with a close negative correlation (r = -0.81) in a manner best fitting a power curve. This change was not found in the control rats injected with killed tumor cells. These results indicate that the dithizone-reactive granules of the granulocytes significantly decreased in a tumor-bearing host. The mechanisms are not known and this staining method can not be considered as a diagnostic tool, but this phenomenon appears to have potential usefulness in the systemic effect of solid tumor.
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001391:Azo Compounds; D004230:Dithizone; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
D001391:Azo Compounds; D014131:Trace Elements; D004230:Dithizone