Lithium treatment in adults with acute myeloid leukemia receiving chemotherapy.

To determine whether lithium can shorten chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, 35 adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia undergoing initial chemotherapy were randomized either to receive oral lithium started at the time of biopsy-proven hypoplasia or to receive no lithium. This study failed to show statistically significant shortening of the duration of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in the lithium treatment group.