Abstract
There is no standard therapy for elderly patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The treatment options of low-dose Ara-C and haematopoietic growth factors are disappointing in regard to response rate or response duration. We tested the treatment with a 72-h continuous infusion of low-dose 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine (DAC) in a group of 29 elderly patients with high-risk MDS. In 15 patients (54%) we observed a response. Eight complete responses were reached, even among patients with bad prognostic cytogenetic findings. The actuarial median survival from the start of the therapy was 46 weeks. The only (and major) toxicity was myelosuppression, leading to a prolonged cytopenic period and thus leading to five toxic deaths (17%) in this high-risk patient group. We conclude that DAC is an effective drug in the treatment of MDS patients and that it probably works via its cytotoxic activity. Myelotoxicity is its major adverse effect.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wijermans, P., Krulder, J., Huijgens, P. et al. Continuous infusion of low-dose 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine in elderly patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. Leukemia 11, 1–5 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2400526
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2400526
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Decitabine improves progression-free survival in older high-risk MDS patients with multiple autosomal monosomies: results of a subgroup analysis of the randomized phase III study 06011 of the EORTC Leukemia Cooperative Group and German MDS Study Group
Annals of Hematology (2016)
-
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (decitabine) in the design of its dose-schedule for cancer therapy
Clinical Epigenetics (2013)
-
Comparison of 7-day azacitidine and 5-day decitabine for treating myelodysplastic syndrome
Annals of Hematology (2013)
-
Feasibility of hypomethylating agents followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2012)
-
Decitabine triphosphate levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients receiving prolonged low-dose decitabine administration: a pilot study
Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology (2012)