RESUMO
To clarify the role of cytokines, nitric oxide [NO] and prostaglandin- E2 [PG-E2] in diagnosis and pathogenesis of infiltration of central nervous system [CNS] in cases with leukemia and lymphoma, the levels of these indices in the cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] of those children were determined. Their levels were correlated with other laboratory studies of CSF and clinical criteria. This study included twenty- seven children with acute leukemia [twenty with acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL] and seven with acute myeloid leukemia [AML]] and fifteen with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]. Clinical evidence of CNS involvement was present in seventeen patients with acute leukemia and seven cases with NHL. The study revealed significantly elevated levels of two types of cytokines [TNF-alpha, IL-6] NO and PG-E2 in CSF of children with acute leukemias and lymphoma compared with control group [children with tension headache or meningism]