Myeloid progenitors in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia: prognostic value in remission

The prognostic value of in vitro cloning of bone marrow and blood cells was tested in 32 patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) at various stages of disease. Using placental conditioned medium (PCM) as a stimulus and panoptical staining methods for the analysis of colony morphology, four different growth types could be distinguished at presentation. Poor response to colony-stimulating activity (GM-CSF) in vitro seemed to be associated with poor survival. Probably due to low patient numbers, this association could not be proven statistically. During remission a progressive decrease of morphologically normal colonies was recognized in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Thus by in vitro cloning methods the quality of remission could be substantiated.