Preliminary results of amifostine administration in combination with recombinant human erythropoietin in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes

Amifostine is a cytoprotective agent mainly used in cancer therapies, in or der to ameliorate the toxic effects of anticancer chemotherapy and radiothe rapy. In the past years an intriguing number of applications of amifostine have been identified; one of these is bone marrow cells protection and stim ulation. Amifostine was administered in seven patients with myelodysplastic syndrome s, four males and 3 females aged between 67 and 78 years old, in order to e stimate its efficacy in reducing the need for red blood cells transfusions. TWO patients had RAEB, four RA and one RARS. The drug was administered in an outpatient basis in a dose of 300 mgr/m(2), three times weekly for at le ast four weeks. We administered at the same time erythropoietin 10.000 U su bcutaneously. All patients received daily supplementation of oral ferrum su lfate and folic acid. Three patients, a woman with RA and two men, one with RA and another with RAEB improved the levels of Hb beyond 12,0 gr/dl and d id not receive blood transfusions after the second week of treatment. The d rug was well tollerated without any side effects in all of the patients.