Hepatocellular carcinoma of a short malignant transformation time in a patient with acute myeloblastic leukemia.

Few cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been described during the course of acute leukemia. The chemotherapy given may be responsible for the development of HCC in such cases. Associated hepatitis may also be responsible. Usually, cancer is a multistep process in which multiple genetic alterations must occur to have a cumulative effect on the control of cell differentiation, cell division, and growth control. This usually takes place over the span of years. Here, we present a case of a patient with acute myeloblastic leukemia who developed HCC of a short malignant transformation time, which does not seem to be related to associated hepatitis or to the chemotherapy given. This may draw attention to the possible contributory role of certain products secreted by the myeloid leukemic cells such as the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in increasing the risk of developing HCC.

The Relevance of Circulating Interleukin-5 (IL-5) in Lymphoproliferative Disorders.

It is well substantiated that several cytokines have a regulatory action on the neoplastic process of different lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). The objective of this study was to clarify the role of interleukin-5 (IL-5) as a factor in disease phenotype and progression and as a mediator of eosinophilia in patients with LPDs. We have therefore measured the concentrations of IL-5 in sera of 49 untreated patients with different LPDs with mean (SD) age of 34.2 (21.2) years and M/F ratio of 29/20. Patients were subdivided according to the category of LPD into: Group 1 (NHL; n = 36), Group 2 (CLL; n = 5) and Group 3 (HD; n = 8). In addition, 14 matched controls were studied in parallel. The major differences among the three categories of LPDs were elicited in parameters reflecting the lymphocytic tumor burden; i.e. peripheral blood (F= 73.785; p =.000) and bone marrow (F = 55.662; p =.000) lymphocytic counts. Serum IL-5 level came next in statistical significance to lymphocytic parameters (F = 10.291; p =.000) with the highest levels being encountered in CLL patients. In NHL group, a concomitant rise of serum IL-5 levels accompanied the increasing grade of lymphoma (X(2) = 13.11; p =.004). Furthermore, IL-5 concentration was well correlated with different features known to be characteristic of LPDs; particularly and in a descending order: absolute eosinophilia (r =.599; p =.000), absolute lymphocytosis (r=.498; p =.000), bone marrow lymphocytosis (r =.436; p =.002) and bone marrow infiltration (r =.375; p =.008). The data are in favorof the fact that IL-5 is crucial in the generation of neoplastic phenotype and may also be responsible for some paraneoplastic features seen in LPDs.