Poor response rate to a continuous schedule of Amifostine therapy for 'low/intermediate risk' myelodysplastic patients

Ineffective haemopoiesis leading to cytopenia presents the major clinical m anagement problem for patients with myelodysplasia (IMDS). Preliminary stud ies have demonstrated that the synthetic aminothiol Amifostine stimulates m ultilineage haemopoiesis both in vitro and ill vivo in patients with MDS. W e have treated 12 patients with an uninterrupted 8-week schedule of thrice- weekly intravenous Amifostine with a starting dose of 300 mg/m(2) escalatin g to 450 mg/m(2) in non-responders. No patients satisfied response criteria on study but two patients showed minor responses. We conclude that therape utic response to Amifostine in MDS may be schedule dependent.