Treatment of Acute Leukemia With Cortisone and Corticotropin

Glucocorticoid-Binding Proteins in Human Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemic Blast Cells

“…All of these early effects apparently require protein and RNA synthesis in that they can be inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide (39,57). This has led to the hypothesis that some key RNA or protein factor is induced by steroid interaction with the nucleus (8,68).…”

“…In patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), the response rate to glucocorticoids is much lower and then only at relatively high doses of drug (27,28,40,68). One might therefore hope that if an SBP were detectable in AML, binding studies on untreated patients might be able to identify steroid-responsive patients and even provide some guidelines for doses needed to saturate the SBP.…”

Aleukaemic Myeloblastic Leukaemia

“…therapy. That steroid therapy might be harmful in at least some cases of acute myeloblastic leukaemia, in contrast to the remarkable though temporary remissions often obtained in lymphoblastic leukaemia, has been suggested by several authors (Rosenthal et al, 1951 ;Fessas et al, 1954;Bjorkman, 1956). Very recently Joseph and Levin (1956) have described a very interesting case of monocytic leukaemia in which cortisone made the leukaemia worse.…”

Hyponatraemia Syndrome in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

“…It is possible that this phenomenon of natriuresis associated with the administration of prednisolone in these three patients may have had the same basis as the augmented natriuresis induced by cytotoxic therapy in the other seven patients. Corticosteroids have non-specific antileukaemic properties and have been reported to induce remission in a significant proportion of patients with acute leukaemia (Fessas et al, 1954;Sampey, 1963). It would seem reasonable to postulate that this syndrome of hyponatraemia may be caused by a natriuretic substance released from leukaemic cells.…”