Résumé
Serum vitamin B12 and vitamin B12 binding proteins (transcobalamin, TC) were determined in 78 patients with acute lymphocgtic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloblastic leukemia (AMI), chronic myelicyitc leukemia (CML) and lymphoma. Their ages raged from 5 to 12 years. The study was also performed on 60 normal subjects for a comparison. Serum vitamin B12 levels in CML patients were found to be 12 times higher while they were normal in patients with lymphoma and lower than normal in patients with AML and ALL. The unsaturated vitamin B12 binding capacity (UBBC) and total vitamin B12 binding capacity (TBBC) were 4 and 6 time, respectively, higher in patients with CML while they were slightly elevated in patients with ALL, AML and lymphoma. Both TCI TCIII were 20 and 4 times, respectively, higher while TCII was slightly but not significantly lower in patients with CML. Similar alterations were seen in patients with ALL, AML and lymphoma but were not as obvious as in CML patients. These findings indicate that the marked increase in serum vitamin B12' UBBC and TCI was found only in patients with CML. Therefore, the measurements of these parameters could be used for the differential diagnosis of CML from other types of leukemia and lymphoma.