Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. An adult cluster
D. C. Bartsch, F. Springher and H. Falk
Between 1970 and 1973, seven cases of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia were
diagnosed in the village of Elmwood, Wis, and the surrounding area. The
patients ranged in age from 14 to 97 years. Interpersonal relationships
were noted among all patients in the group. This cluster of cases
represents a greater than 20-fold increase in the expected incidence of
this disease for this population. Morphologic similarities in the blast
cells were seen in all cases. This cluster of cases may bear a relationship
to bovine leukemia since the town was located in dairy farming country and
because a number of the patients had either worked at or lived near the
town creamery.
