Leukopoietic Activity in Human Urine — The Granulocytic Leukemias

Abstract

Urine from normal persons and patients with acute and chronic leukemia was tested for ability to stimulate granulocyte bone-marrow colony growth in vitro. All eight patients with chronic granulocytic leukemia had high levels of colonygrowth-stimulating activity. Six out of seven patients with acute stem-cell or acute lymphatic leukemia also had high levels, whereas nine out of 15 patients with untreated acute granulocytic leukemia had low or absent levels. In acute granulocytic leukemia, levels may rise during treatment, often becoming normal to very high with remission, only to fall again to subnormal levels with relapse.