Lithium and granulocytopenia during induction treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Twelve adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) received lithium carbonate, 300 mg, three times a day during induction treatment. They were compared to 12 similar patients consecutively treated with the same induction regimen; patients and controls were comparable for age, degree and presence of splenomegaly, hemoglobin level, blast cell count, polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell count and platelet count at diagnosis. All patients developed a severe neutropenia. PMN count at nadir was slightly higher in the lithium group, but not at a level of statistical significance (p = 0.100). The median number of days with PMN less than 1 x 10(9)/liter was 4 in the lithium group and 14.5 in the non-lithium group (p = 0.014), while the median number of days with PMN less than 0.5 x 10(9)/liter was 0 and 2 days, respectively (p = 0.004). Duration of thrombocytopenia was similar in the 2 groups and so was the remission rate; 2 infective episodes occurred, one in the lithium group and one in the controls.