[Non-hematologic toxicity in high-dose cytarabine therapy]

The hence reported non-haematologic toxicity in high-dose cytarabin mainly concerned CNS (cerebellar dysfunction), eyes (keratitis and conjunctivitis), skin (erythema), and gastrointestinal tract (vomiting, diarrhea). It partly depends on dosage and partly on duration of treatment. A dose of 48 g/sq m within one cycle apparently represents a critical upper limit as hence especially the risk of irreversible brain damage increases. Considering the fact that the indication for high-dose cytarabin is given mainly for poor prognostic failures and relapses in acute leukemias toxicity seems to be acceptable.