Poor response rate to a continuous schedule of Amifostine therapy for 'low/intermediate risk' myelodysplastic...

Ineffective haemopoiesis leading to cytopenia presents the major clinical management problem for patients with myelodysplasia (MDS). Preliminary studies have demonstrated that the synthetic aminothiol Amifostine stimulates multilineage haemopoiesis both in vitro and in vivo in patients with MDS. We have treated 12 patients with an uninterrupted 8-week schedule of thrice-weekly intravenous Amifostine with a starting dose of 300 mg/m2 escalating to 450 mg/m2 in non-responders. No patients satisfied response criteria on study but two patients showed minor responses. We conclude that therapeutic response to Amifostine in MDS may be schedule dependent.