Marrow neutrophil mass in patients with nonhematological tumor

The state of granulocytopoiesis was assessed in 15 patients with metastatic carcinoma without infection, overt protein-calorie malnutrition, splenomegaly, or prior chemotherapy. Seven patients had decreased total marrow neutrophil mass, accompanied by proportional reduction in marrow proliferative and nonproliferative neutrophil pool, without increased numbers or proliferative capacity of marrow CFC or myeloid mitotic index. Four patients had decreased MGR assessed with hydrocortisone, but only one had reduced marrow nonproliferative neutrophil pool. Neither MGR nor blood neutrophil count correlates significantly with nonproliferative neutrophil pool or the number of band and segmented neutrophils in the bone marrow. The blood neutrophil count, however, correlates significantly with total marrow neutrophil mass (r = 0.69, p less than 0.01) and proliferative neutrophil pool (r = 0.68, p less than 0.01). These findings suggest that reduced marrow neutrophil mass is common in patients with metastatic carcinoma in the absence of overt protein-calorie malnutrition and that the reduced marrow neutrophil mass is most likely due to depressed granulocytopoiesis.