Erythropoietin level in patients with acute leukaemia

Erythropoietin level in the serum and urine of adult patients with acute leukaemia (AML, ALL, MML) was estimated by polycythaemic mouse bioassay in order to obtain more information about the associated anaemia. In AML and ALL patients the serum erythropoietin level as found to be increased and in a negative correlation with the blood haemoglobin concentration. In ALL patients erythropoietin in urine was increased regularly while in AML patients it was not. No correlation between the serum level and the urinary excretion of ESF, or between the blood Hb and the serum ESF, was found in MML patients. The results show that anaemia in leukaemia is not due to the low ESF level.