The mechanism of the development of anemia in untreated chronic lymphatic leukemia.

NEMIA is part of the natural history of chronic lymphatic leukemia. The etiology of the anemia has been attributed to a decreased rate of red cell production’3 and to an increased rate of red cell destruction.49 Prior studies have been based on estimations of ( 1 ) the amount of erythrobbastic tissue found in smears of aspirated bone marrow and in sections of the marrow at autopsy; ( 2 ) the red cell survival by Ashby or radiochromium technics; and ( 3 ) the rate of red cell formation by radioiron technics and reticubocyte counts. Furthermore, investigators of this problem generally have not taken into account the effect of therapy on the development of anemia. The purpose of this investigation was to studly the interrelationships of the peripheral blood findings, the histopathology of the bone marrow, and the red blood cell survival in order to elucidate the mechanism by which anemia develops in patients with untreated chronic lymphatic leukemia.