White cell differential: coupling of cell types in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The peripheral white blood cell differential counts in patients undergoing chemotherapy showed an unexpected partial correlation between the various cell classes during wide swings in the absolute cell number. These observations were made using the technique of automated flow cytochemistry on a 10,000 cell count Hemalog-D, which increases the statistical precision and permits differential counts in leukopenic patients. The data demonstrated that the white cell types do not behave as independent variables and suggest that the white blood cell differential count in the peripheral blood during chemotherapy may be in part altered by factors unrelated to cell production or destruction kinetics.