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Disease‐related hypocholesterolemia in patients with hairy cell leukemia. Positive correlation with spleen size but not with tumor cell burden or low density lipoprotein receptor activity
Author(s) -
Juliusson Gunnar,
Vitols Sigurd,
Liliemark Jan
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19950801)76:3<423::aid-cncr2820760312>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - hypocholesterolemia , medicine , hairy cell leukemia , cholesterol , leukemia , endocrinology , lipoprotein , spleen , high density lipoprotein , gastroenterology , immunology
Background . Hypocholesterolemia is common in patients with various malignant diseases, and may be a risk factor for the development or a consequence of the tumor, by different possible mechanisms. Methods . Serum lipids were analyzed in 66 patients with symptomatic hairy cell leukemia (HCL) before and repeatedly after treatment with cladribine. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor activity of hairy cells from 12 patients was analyzed. Results . The median pretreatment serum cholesterol was 4.78 mmol/l. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were inversely correlated with the spleen size, but not with other markers of tumor burden. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol correlated to serum β2‐microglobulin. Anemia and hypocholesterolemia developed synchronously before diagnosis in one patient. After cladribine therapy, there was a highly significant increase in all serum lipids. Low density lipoprotein receptor activity of HCL cells was elevated in only one of 12 patients; this patient had high serum cholesterol. Hypocholesterolemia predicted posttreatment neutropenic fever. Conclusion . Hypocholesterolemia is a common disease‐related finding in HCL, which is not caused by an increased LDL receptor activity of leukemia cells, but related to spleen size, predicts posttreatment fever, and is completely reverted after successful treatment of leukemia. Cancer 1995;76:423–8.