Faculty Bibliography

Theophylline, a methylxanthine commonly used as a treatment for asthma, has been shown to induce apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells both in vitro and in vivo. We have treated three advanced CLL patients with theophylline, and seen responses in two. The clinical courses of the responders are presented, and the literature concerning theophylline as therapy for CLL is reviewed

A family with erythroleukemia is presented, in which father and son were diagnosed at the same age, but 20 years apart, with almost identical clinical and morphological features of the disease. No environmental factors were identified. The karyotypic abnormalities of the bone marrow blasts in the son demonstrated 2 major clones, involving chromosomes 5 and 7, as well as 8, 13, 16 and 21. Both patients demonstrated a poor response to chemotherapy. Previously described families with erythroleukemia are reviewed with available specific karyotypic aberrations

Four patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML), who developed isolated thrombocytopenia after anti-leukaemic chemotherapy, were treated with cyclosporine A and showed significantly enhanced platelet recovery. All four patients demonstrated decreased bone marrow megakaryocytes without dysplastic features, absence of identifiable peripheral autoimmune platelet destruction or cytogenetic evidence of secondary myelodysplasia. The duration of response to cyclosporine A ranged from 6 days to 40 months. The mechanism of cyclosporine A-induced platelet recovery may include inhibition of negative modulators and induction of thrombopoietic cytokines mediated by bone marrow regulatory cells