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Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Hematologic Malignancies
- Ilan Shimon, MD; and
- Ofer Shpilberg, MD
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Los Angeles, CA 90048-1865 University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15261
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Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
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TO THE EDITOR:
In their excellent review on the family of insulin-like growth factors (IGF) and cancer, LeRoith and colleagues [1] described the current knowledge of the role of the IGFs and of their receptors and binding proteins in certain solid tumors. However, the authors did not mention the involvement of the IGF system in the growth and development of neoplastic hematologic processes. We recently reviewed the relevant literature on the role of the IGF system in the regulation of normal and malignant hematopoiesis [2]. Nearly all hematopoietic cells, either normal or neoplastic, express the receptors of IGF, and some even produce IGFs or their binding proteins. Insulin-like growth factors seem to be involved in normal erythropoiesis, granulopoiesis, and lymphopoiesis. The growth factors are also mitogenic for cell lines of promyelocytic leukemia [3], acute myeloid leukemia [4], erythroleukemia, and Burkitt lymphoma and may stimulate proliferation of B-cell and T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia and erythroid progenitors in polycythemia vera [5]. The differentiation of certain immature malignant cell lines as myeloid leukemias or B-cell or T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia to their mature counterparts is usually accompanied by a decrease in the number and affinity of IGF-1 receptors on cells.
We therefore conclude that the IGF family of peptides, combined with other regulatory systems, has a role in the proliferation and differentiation of neoplastic hematopoietic disorders as important as the role of lymphokines and growth factors in the proliferation and differentiation of solid tumors.
Ilan Shimon, MD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048-1865
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
