Clinical significance of monocytosis and human monocytic colony-stimulating factor in patients with adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma.
We studied 79 patients with adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATL) and 11 human T-lymphotropic virus-type I (HTLV-I-carriers to investigate the clinical significance of absolute monocyte counts in peripheral blood. Monocytosis was observed in 20% of ATL patients, but in none of the HTLV-I carriers. ATL patients with absolute monocyte counts above 1.5 x 10(9)/l had a poorer prognosis than those with counts less than 1.5 x 10(9)/l. We also investigated serum levels of human monocytic colony-stimulating factor (hM-CSF) in 7 ATL patients and 11 HTLV-I carriers at the time of diagnosis before chemotherapy, and also in 5 normal healthy individuals. The differences among the 3 groups were not statistically significant. However, markedly increased serum hM-CSF levels were found in 3 ATL patients who were considered to be in the accelerated phase of the disease and 2 of whom were previously diagnosed and had received chemotherapy. There was no correlation between serum hM-CSF level and absolute monocyte count in ATL patients or HTLV-I carriers. The results of hM-CSF assay of supernatants of cultured ATL cells revealed that the ATL cells did not produce hM-CSF themselves. In an ATL patient with pleural involvement, the pleural hM-CSF level was lower than the serum level. These facts indicate that absolute monocyte count is one of the prognostic factors in ATL and the source of the elevated hM-CSF level in some patients with ATL is not ATL cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tokioka
T
T
Department of Internal Medicine, Saga Medical School, Japan.
Shimamoto
Y
Y
Motoyoshi
K
K
Yamaguchi
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007964:Leukocytosis; D015993:Life Tables; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor