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AN ADDENDUM ON MATHEMATICAL TREATMENT OF THE DATA
Author(s) -
Hartmann N. R.,
Scheufens E. E.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1973.0231a.x
Subject(s) - labelling , mitosis , chemotherapy , precursor cell , mitotic index , discontinuation , cell division , cell cycle , biology , immunology , medicine , cancer research , cell , chemistry , oncology , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry
S ummary . A case of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia has been studied by in vivo labelling with [ 3 H]thymidine at two stages in the disease, first at the time of diagnosis before treatment and again at the first relapse. The study procedure was identical on both occasions. At relapse, 4 days after discontinuation of 6‐mercaptopurine maintenance treatment, remarkable differences were observed as compared to the findings at diagnosis with respect to the curve of labelled mitoses, the mitotic index, and the frequency of cells in G 2 . These results suggest a larger spread of individual cell cycle phase times in relapse than at diagnosis. It cannot be decided whether this depends on the preceding chemotherapy or the evolution of the disease. Whatever the mechanism, the increased cytokinetic heterogeneity in relapse represents an obstacle when cell cycle phase dependent chemotherapy is attempted. In addition, the transition of cells between pools of blast cells of different cell size was studied by measuring the size of labelled and unlabelled cells as a function of time after flash‐labelling. These data show that the small blast cells become labelled concomitantly with the division of the large, primarily labelled cells, that at least some small blast cells can replenish the group of large cells, and that a fraction of very small blast cells do not divide for a very long period of time.