GROWTH-FACTORS IN THE THERAPY OF MYELODYSPLASIA - BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Growth factors (GF) are reported to play an important role in the ther apy of myelodisplastic syndromes (MDS). After in vitro administration a consistent group of MDS may respond to GF but the possibility of dif ferentiation, regulation or expansion of myelodisplastic clones follow ing GF therapy is still a question to be answered as their optimum dos e and combinations. To validate if in vivo treatment with GF, may prom ote the regulation or the recovery of myelopoiesis and/or modify the c lonality of the responses, we gave G-CSF after intensive chemotherapy in high risk MDS and acute leukemia evolving from MDS patients. Accord ing to our data the use of G-CSF after intensive chemotherapy may impr ove the CR rate without increase of leukemic transformation. However t he answer were clonal and the remission duration remained very short s o we suggest to utilize this time to perform other therapeutic strateg ies such as, when possible, the BMT.