Abstract
Urinary glycosaiminoglycan excretion is increased in a variety of human diseases, including malignancy. We have measured serum and urine glycosaminoglycan levels by the carbazole method of uronic acid determination in patients with myeloid leukemia or myelodysplasia. Eleven patients were studied during active disease as well as eight in complete remission. Serum levels in patients with active disease did not differ significantly from 11 healthy volunteers with no hematological disease. In contrast, the median urine level for the patients with active disease was 7.6 mg uronate/g Creatinine (Creat) compared to 2.6 for controls (p < 0.002). Interestingly, the eight patients in complete remission also had a significant increase in uronate excretion with a median of 7.3 (p < 0.002). These results suggest that elevated urinary glycosaminoglycan levels in leukemia are not due to impaired ability of the liver to clear circulating glycosaminoglycans or overproduction by leukemic cells. The observed increase in glycosaminoglycan excretion may be due to altered bone marrow matrix metabolism that is often not reversed by the achievement of hematologic remission.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 48-50 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Leukemia |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 1989 |