epidermal-growth-factor and Precursor-Cell-Lymphoblastic-Leukemia-Lymphoma

We studied 18 patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia and 13 with relapsed APL. We found a significantly elevated EGF in acute leukaemia, especially in APL, being 418.59 +/- 19.2 micrograms in the 24-h urine that was much higher than that of the normal controls. When eight APL patients achieved complete remission by RA treatment, the EGF value decreased to 149.9 +/- 27.3 micrograms in the 24-h urine near to normal. In 13 patients with relapsed APL, EGF rose to 446.9 +/- 82.6 micrograms in the 24-h urine. Most interestingly, this elevated EGF could be detected before the relapse by 5 +/- 0.84 months in seven out of eight APL with relapse. We suggest that the unaccountably elevated EGF during remission period may be an indicator of the occurrence of relapse.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Base Sequence; Biomarkers, Tumor; Cell Differentiation; Epidermal Growth Factor; Female; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Leukemia, Myeloid; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Neoplasm Proteins; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Neoplasm, Residual; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Remission Induction; Tretinoin