Original Article


VARIATION OF SERUM G-CSF LEVEL IN APL TREATED WITH ALL-TRANS RETINOIC ACID

Guosheng Jang, Guanlin Sun, Tianhua Tang, Wen Wu, Rongfu Zhou, Weili Wu, Xiusong Li, Zhixiang Shen, Fenqin Zhang, Yu Chen, Zhenyi Wang

Abstract

Objective: To detect the level of serum G-CSF. from patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia pre- or posttreatment with ATRA and analyze the relationship between serum G-CSF and hyperleukocytosis.
Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was developed and used in detecting serum GCSF. Linear correlation test and Spearman rank order correlation coefficient were used as the statistical analytical method.
Results: The levels of serum GCSF increased in 11.4% (4/35) of APL patients (equal of more than 0.095 ng/ml). It was also found that serum GCSF level in 25 APL patients started to increase from the 6th day to 12th day and then gradually declined after treatment with ATRA. Both serum G-CSF and WBC numbers increase in 72% (18/25) patients; no obvious variation of WBC and increase of serum G-CSF and augmentation of WBC were seen in 12% (3/25) of the cases with APL. It was also demonstrated that serum G-CSF level was statistically related to the WBC number (r=0.275, P<0.05), promyelocytes (r=0.2015, P<0.05) or more matured granulocytes (r=0.2055 P<0.05) by Spearman rank correlation analysis.
Conclusion: The results of this study strongly indicate that G-CSF variation in patients with APL after treatment with ATRA plays an important role in hyperleukocytosis of WBC increase.