Results of immunosuppression in aplastic anaemia

The availability of immunosuppressive agents, such as antilymphocyte globul in and cyclosporin, has had a major impact on the outcome of patients with aplastic anaemia. The majority of patients will show a response to immunosu ppressive therapy. For those who fail to respond to an initial course, a se cond or further courses of immunosuppression can be given. Improvement in s urvival may also be due to the improved quality of supportive care availabl e today for patients with aplastic anaemia. The additional use of haemopoie tic growth factors such as granulocyte colony stimulating factor with immun osuppressive therapy requires further prospective randomised studies in ord er to evaluate whether they are of benefit for patients with aplastic anaem ia. Because of the rarity of this condition, the use of multicentre prospec tive randomised studies is crucial for further evaluation of treatment moda lities in aplastic anaemia. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.