The Effect of Treatment in Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Abstract

The biochemical leukocytic abnormalities of 24 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia were studied before and following treatment with conventional and experiment chemotherapeutic agents. Abnormalities in leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, acid production and intra-cellular pH were noted to improve when chemotherapy resulted in clinical and hematologic improvement These biochemical parameters became normal more often when a complete (bone marrow) hematologic remission was induced by therapy, than when patients were treated only to peripheral hematologic remissions. However, persistent biochemical abnormalities were detected in most patients treated to complete remissions. These studies indicate that current chemotherapeutic regimes do not uniformly result in return to normal of the leukocytic biochemical abnormalities of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.