title: Low dose cytosine arabinoside in refractory anemia with excess of blasts in transformation.
abstract: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are heterogeneous diseases. Patients with blast counts of more than 20% of nucleated bone marrow cells have a high risk of short survival. We treated six patients with refractory anemia with excess of blast in transformation (RAEBiT) with low dose cytosine arabinoside (LD Ara-C). We had one partial remission (PR), surviving 16 weeks and two complete remissions (CR), surviving 22 and 55+ months. Myelosuppression was dominant in all patients, but was not as serious as with conventional remission-induction treatments for leukemias. Bone marrow aplasia occurred in all responding patients, but a differentiation effect is possible too. Maintenance therapy with LD Ara-C may be important for the two long-lasting CR.
authors.affiliation: I. Department of Medicine, AKH-Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fridrik
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herbinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000754:Anemia, Refractory, with Excess of Blasts / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000209:etiology; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine