An androgen (stanozolol: 0,15 mg/kg/d) was systematically associated to the treatment of acute non lymphoblastic leukemias, since the beginning of induction therapy (vincristin, daunorubicin, prednisone) and throughout the maintenance period (6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate). Thirty-six patients less than 60 years old (median age: 44 years) presenting with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia were entered to the study. Sixteen achieved complete remission (C.R.), i.e. 44% of the whole and 53% of treated patients. Out of 16 patients with complete remission, 4 relapsed during the observation period which lasted 4-1/2 years. The stability of the hematologic equilibrium in patients in C.R. is the main finding of the present study. The actuarial curve of the duration of the first complete remission reaches a "plateau"; after the 8th month only one relapse was observed in 9 patients. The rate of C.R. at 2 years is 76 +/- 23%. As compared to the results from other schedules of treatment, this rate appears significantly better, specially in the case of immunotherapy (p less than 0,001). A prospective randomized study is now suggested as to confirm this result; its therapeutic and theoretical basis and perspectives are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of colony forming cells and aggregates (CFCA) in vitro in blood and bone marrow of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia: simplified bovine serum albumin gradient centrifugation].

In untreated CML patients (at diagnosis or in relapse) we find about the same number of CFC per 1.10(6) nucleated cells in the blood and bone marrow (sometimes, slightly greater in the blood than in the marrow). Application of density-cut separation shows normal number of CFC in the low density fraction (Ldf-CFC) of bone marrow cells from patients in remission. In 7 untreated patients (at diagnosis or in relapse), we have always found a greater number of Ldf-CFC in the blood than in the marrow, when the study is performed on the same day and in the same technical conditions. This difference is observed even if the leukocytes count is elevated and thence, the contamination of bone marrow cells by blood cells is presumably important. The percentage of peripheral blood Ldf-CFC seems to be positively correlated with the number of peripheral blood leukocytes. The highest percentage of Ldf-CFC (greater than 60%) have been found in 5 patients in relapse. Two of these have entered into the blastic phase of CML and the three others relapse repeatedly in the chronic form of the disease.

Bone Marrow↗

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