Variation of plasma fibronectin levels in leukemia patients.

In the present study plasma fibronectin levels were determined in patients with hematopoietic malignancy, particularly leukemias, in an effort to clarify their clinical implications. Among leukemia patients, those with AML, ALL, ATL or CLL had various plasma fibronectin levels that were higher in some cases, while lower in others, as compared to normal control values. An elevation of the fibronectin level was noted often in APL, while lower fibronectin values were observed in many instances of CML. In these types of leukemia, acute exacerbation as well as supervention of infection tended to be associated with lower than normal levels of fibronectin. An especially marked depression of fibronectin occurred, when leukemia was complicated by sepsis or DIC, in which a good parallel was noted between the progress of disease and the fibronectin level. In lymphoproliferative diseases, the fibronectin value varied widely, but low fibronectin levels were frequently associated with intercurrent infection or an extreme deterioration of the general physical conditions.