Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) was studied in PHA-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes from 36 newly diagnosed and untreated leukemic patients: 16 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 10 with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), and 10 with chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML).
A minority of blast cells in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) form colonies in culture in methylcellulose when stimulated by media conditioned by normal leukocytes in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA-LCM).
The present study also revealed that lymphocytes in ANLL respond poorly to PHA in the presence of high numbers of blasts but do respond well to mitogens during remission.