A murine model for central nervous system leukemia and its possible relevance to human leukemia.

Treatment of a transplantable leukemia in AKR mice with both amphotericin B and 1,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea cured a significant percentage of animals with advanced disease. Some long-term survivors developed paralysis, and they invariably demonstrated central nervous system (CNS) leukemia. Some of these animals had a systemic relapse of their leukemia, and the CNS appeared to act as a focus for systemic dissemination. The occurrence patterns and histopathologic features of the CNS leukemia in the long-term survivors were strikingly similar to those observed in humans with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.