Changes in granulocyte-macrophage colony formation in relation to chemotherapy and clinical progress in acute myeloblastic leukaemia patients.
To investigate the correlation between granulocyte-macrophage colony formation and the prognosis of acute myelocytic leukaemia, an in vitro colony formation assay using a practical method was performed at diagnosis in 50 patients newly diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukaemia. Granulocyte-macrophage colony counts were significantly lower in acute myelocytic leukaemia patients than in the control group (n = 5). The diminished colony formation was restored to within the normal range in 15 patients after complete remission was achieved. In eight patients, serial evaluation of granulocyte-macrophage colony formation was performed, and suppression of colony formation was observed at relapse. The comparison of granulocyte-macrophage colony counts at diagnosis between a group of patients with complete remission (n = 26) and a group of treatment failure cases (n = 24) revealed a significant difference suggesting that high counts of granulocyte-macrophage colony formation are predictive of a favourable prognosis for acute myelocytic leukaemia.
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
S
S
Miyao
J
J
Tamura
M
M
Sakuraya
H
H
Murakami
T
T
Naruse
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay