Serum concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-α during chemotherapy-induced leukopenia in patients with acute leukaemia and bacterial infections

Serum concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) increase during septicaemia in previously healthy individuals. To investigate whether a similar increase in TNF-α can be seen in severely immunocompromised patients with acute leukaemia and chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, serum TNF-α was analysed in leukopenic patients with bacterial infections. Pretherapy serum levels of TNF-α were decreased in leukaemia patients compared with healthy controls, and serum TNF-α levels showed a further decrease when patients developed chemotherapy-induced leukopenia. When leukopenic patients developed bacterial infections, serum concentrations of TNF-α increased. Serum levels of TNF-α decreased when clinical signs of infection resolved during antibiotic therapy, but an increase occurred later in parallel with haematopoietic reconstitution.