Circulating blasts following chemotherapy in pediatric patients: implications for complete remission definition in acute leukemia.

Abstract

We assessed the incidence of circulating blasts occurring post-chemotherapy in 1000 consecutive pediatric blood samples. Blasts with myeloid morphology (<1-3%) were present in post-chemotherapy samples in 19 of 294 (6.4%) patients with acute leukemia in remission and in 11 of 361 (3.4%) patients with solid tumors, non-Hodgkin or Hodgkin lymphoma, and were associated with ANC>1.5x10(9)/l in 13 of 30 (43%) samples, and platelets >100x10(9)/l in 25 of 30 (83%) samples. Our findings suggest that the absence of circulating blasts may not be a prerequisite for remission in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

• Authors: Mihaela Onciu, Elihu Estey, Francis J Giles
• Journal: Hematology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (Hematology) Vol. 8 Issue 5 Pg. 295-301 (Oct 2003) ISSN: 1024-5332 [Print] England
• PMID: 14530171 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents

Topics

• Acute Disease
• Antineoplastic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Blood Cells (pathology)
• Humans
• Leukemia (diagnosis, drug therapy, pathology)
• Lymphoma (pathology)
• Myeloid Cells (pathology)
• Neoplasm, Residual (classification, pathology)
• Neoplasms (pathology)
• Neoplastic Cells, Circulating (classification, pathology)
• Remission Induction
• Retrospective Studies
• Terminology as Topic