Elevated levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in serum of patients with hematological or non-hematological malignancies.

We measured the levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in the serum of 53 patients with hematological malignancies (14 with acute leukemia, 10 myeloproliferative disorders, 21 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 8 multiple myeloma), 40 with non-hematological solid malignancies (24 with lung cancer, 11 digestive system cancer and 5 other cancers) and 95 healthy subjects as a control using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both hematological and non-hematological neoplasms showed significantly higher sIL-2R levels than normal subjects (p<0.01).

Effect of direct infusion of antifungal agent on invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in a patient with acute leukemia.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a serious problem in the treatment of patients with acute leukemia. A 52-year-old woman with acute myeloid leukemia developed invasive pulmonary aspergillosis during remission induction chemotherapy. Initially, we treated her with a continuous intravenous drip infusion of amphotericin B, together with itraconazole, given orally.