INCREASED PLASMA M-CSF CONCENTRATION IN PATIENTS WITH ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA - CLINICAL CORRELATION

Plasma concentration of M-CSF was measured in 35 patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL), using a radioimmunoassay (RIA). ATL patients sho wed elevated levels of plasma M-CSF concentration when compared with h ealthy adult volunteers. Higher M-CSF levels were observed in acute AT L patients than in patients with chronic or smouldering ATL (P < 0.000 1). There was a significant positive correlation of M-CSF concentratio n with serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level, a reliable marker for a ssessing the grade of malignancy in ATL (P = 0.0003). There was, howev er, no correlation of M-CSF concentration with total counts of periphe ral blood ATL cells, neutrophils or monocytes, or with serum calcium l evels. Although there was a significant positive correlation of M-CSF concentration with body temperature (P = 0.003), there was not a signi ficant correlation of M-CSF concentration with C-reactive protein (CRP ), a protein indicative of the severity of inflammation (P = 0.063). T hese results indicate that plasma M-CSF concentration reflects the dis ease activity of ATL, and can thus serve as a marker in the clinical s ubclassification of ATL patients.