Abstract
The pathogenesis of anemia was studies in eight cases of untreated acute childhood leukemia. Varying degrees of erythroid hypoplasis, as judged by ferrokinetic studies and/or studies of marrow cellularity, were present in all cases. Urinary erythropoietin excretion (UEP) was assayed in exhypoxic polycythemic mice. An increase in UEP within the range commonly found in aplastic anemia was seen in two cases. In three other cases, however, the UEP was very low for the degree of anemia. In one such case, presenting with Hb concentration of 7 g/100 ml, massive leukemic infiltration and scarce erythroid elements in the marrow, the UEP was 0.0014/24 hr. There were, on the other hand, two patients who had only mild anemia and yet their UEP was excessively high. One such patient, whose Hb concentration was 10.3 g/100 ml, excreted 60 units/24 hr. An inhibitor of crythropoiesis has been looked for in the plasmas of our patients but none was found so far. These preliminary observations suggest that some interference with the regulator mechanizm of crythropoiesis is present in acute leukemia.
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Zaizov, R., Matoth, V. 64. Pathogenesis of anemia in acute leukemia. Pediatr Res 5, 96 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00069
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00069