Increased sensitivity to indomethacin of mice bearing the BCL1-leukemia

Indomethacin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits prostaglandin synthesis. Administration of indomethacin, in doses which were non-toxic to normal BALB/c mice, to mice bearing the BCL1 leukemia resulted in increased mortality of these animals. This effect was only observed if the indomethacin was administered to animals with advanced disease (splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and leukemia). If indomethacin treatment was initiated prior to transplantation of the tumor or 2 weeks post-transplantation, and continued throughout the disease process, there was no effect on either the course of the disease or mortality. Injection of similar doses of indomethacin into mice bearing advanced B16 melanoma tumors did not result in increased mortality. Therefore, metabolic changes which occur in the leukemic animals may uniquely alter host sensitivity to this non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent. The BCL1 leukemia may be a useful animal model to provide insights into the biochemical basis for the adverse reactions experienced by some Hodgkin's disease patients when they are treated with anti-inflammatory agents such as indomethacin.